Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009

It is to be conclusively presumed that there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of information (referred to in this Act as Cabinet information) contained in any of the following documents—

a document that contains an official record of Cabinet,

a document prepared for the dominant purpose of its being submitted to Cabinet for Cabinet’s consideration (whether or not the document is actually submitted to Cabinet),

a document prepared for the purpose of its being submitted to Cabinet for Cabinet’s approval for the document to be used for the dominant purpose for which it was prepared (whether or not the document is actually submitted to Cabinet and whether or not the approval is actually given),

a document prepared after Cabinet’s deliberation or decision on a matter that would reveal or tend to reveal information concerning any of those deliberations or decisions,

a document prepared before or after Cabinet’s deliberation or decision on a matter that reveals or tends to reveal the position that a particular Minister has taken, is taking, will take, is considering taking, or has been recommended to take, on the matter in Cabinet,

a document that is a preliminary draft of, or a copy of or part of, or contains an extract from, a document referred to in paragraphs (a)–(e).

Information contained in a document is not Cabinet information if—

public disclosure of the document has been approved by the Premier or Cabinet, or

10 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the document came into existence.

Information is not Cabinet information merely because it is contained in a document attached to a document referred to in subclause (1).

Information is not Cabinet information to the extent that it consists solely of factual material unless the information is contained in a document that, either entirely or in part, would—

reveal or tend to reveal information concerning any Cabinet decision or determination, or

reveal or tend to reveal the position that a particular Minister has taken, is taking or will take on a matter in Cabinet.

In this clause, Cabinet includes a committee of Cabinet and a subcommittee of a committee of Cabinet.