Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

This section applies in relation to the following reports:

a finalised recommendation report given to the Minister under subsection 93(5);

a recommendation report given to the Minister under section 95C, 100 or 105.

Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the Secretary must provide a copy of a report to which this section applies to a person who asks for it (either at no charge or at a reasonable charge determined by the Secretary).

The Secretary is not required to provide a copy of the report under subsection (2) to anyone until after the Minister has decided, for the purposes of each controlling provision, whether or not to approve the taking of the action concerned.

The Secretary may refuse to provide, under subsection (2), a copy of so much of the report as:

is:

an exempt document under subparagraph 33(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (documents affecting national security, defence or international relations); or

a conditionally exempt document under section 47C of that Act (deliberative processes) to which access would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest for the purposes of subsection 11A(5) of that Act; or

the Secretary is satisfied is commercial‑in‑confidence.

The Secretary must not be satisfied that a part of the report is commercial‑in‑confidence unless a person demonstrates to the Secretary that:

release of the information in that part would cause competitive detriment to the person; and

the information in that part is not in the public domain; and

the information in that part is not required to be disclosed under another law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; and

the information in that part is not readily discoverable.