Right to Information Act 2009

This Act may be cited as the Right to Information Act

2009.

This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

The primary object of this Act is to give—

a right of access to information in the government’s possession or under the government’s control unless, on balance, it is contrary to the public interest to give the access;

and

a right of amendment of personal information in the government’s possession or under the government’s control unless, on balance, it is contrary to the public interest to allow the information to be amended.

The Act must be applied and interpreted to further the primary object.

This Act is not intended to prevent or discourage the publication of information or the giving of access to, or allowing the amendment of, documents otherwise than under this Act if the publication, giving of access or amendment can properly be done or is permitted or required to be done by law.

To remove any doubt, it is declared that subsection (1) applies to—

the giving of access to documents to which this Act does not apply, exempt documents and contrary to public interest documents, or documents to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply; and

allowing the amendment of documents to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply; and

the publication of information and the giving of access to, or allowing the amendment of, documents by—

an entity to which this Act does not apply or to which this Act does not apply in relation to a particular function; or

an entity to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply;

or

an entity to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply in relation to a particular function.

In this section—

document to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply see the Information

Privacy Act 2009, section 16.

entity to which the privacy principle requirements do not apply see the Information

Privacy Act 2009, section 18(4).

Without limiting section 4, this Act does not affect the operation of another Act or administrative scheme that does 1 or more of the following things, whether or not on payment of a charge—

requires information about documents or personal information in the possession, or under the control, of government to be made available to members of the community;

enables a member of the community to access documents in the possession, or under the control, of government;

enables an individual to be given access to or to amend the individual’s personal information in the possession, or under the control, of government;

requires the publication of information concerning government operations.

This Act overrides the provisions of other Acts prohibiting the disclosure of information (however described).

Notes—

1 The Parliament considers that, unless the information is personal information of the applicant, information the disclosure of which is prohibited under a provision of an Act mentioned in schedule 3, section 12 is information the disclosure of which would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest—see section 44(2)(a) and schedule 3, section 12.

2 This information is called exempt information and, under section 47(3)(a), an agency or Minister may refuse access to a document to the extent the document comprises exempt information.

3 However, an agency or Minister may give access to a document even if this Act provides that access to the document may be refused—see section 48(3).

This Act does not affect the provisions of other

Acts regulating the disposal of information (however described).

The Information Privacy Act

2009 is intended to operate subject to the provisions of this Act regulating the accessing and amendment of personal information.

Note—

See the Information Privacy

Act 2009, section 7.

This Act binds the State.

The dictionary in schedule 5 defines particular words used in this Act.

In this Act, a document to which this Act does not apply means a document mentioned in schedule 1.

In this Act, document, of an agency, means a document, other than a document to which this Act does not apply, in the possession, or under the control, of the agency whether brought into existence or received in the agency, and includes—

a document to which the agency is entitled to access; and

a document in the possession, or under the control, of an officer of the agency in the officer’s official capacity.