Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au C2012A00177 In force Act

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Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012

 

No. 177, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Freedom of Information Act 1982, and for related purposes

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Schedule(s)

Schedule 1—Amendments

Freedom of Information Act 1982

Privacy Act 1988

 

 

 

Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012

No. 177, 2012

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Freedom of Information Act 1982, and for related purposes

[Assented to 4 December 2012]

 

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012.

2  Commencement

  This Act commences on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3  Schedule(s)

  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.


Schedule 1—Amendments

 

Freedom of Information Act 1982

1  Subsection 25(1)

Omit all the words after “last‑mentioned document”, substitute:

  to be:

 (a) an exempt document by virtue of section 33 or subsection 37(1) or 45A(1); or

 (b) an exempt document to the extent referred to in subsection 45A(2) or (3).

2  Subsection 25(2)

Repeal the subsection, substitute:

 (2) If a request relates to a document that is, or if it existed would be, of a kind referred to in subsection (1), the agency or Minister dealing with the request may give notice in writing to the applicant that the agency or the Minister (as the case may be) neither confirms nor denies the existence, as a document of the agency or an official document of the Minister, of such a document but that, assuming the existence of such a document, it would be:

 (a) an exempt document by virtue of section 33 or subsection 37(1) or 45A(1); or

 (b) an exempt document to the extent referred to in subsection 45A(2) or (3).

 (3) If a notice is given under subsection (2) of this section:

 (a) section 26 applies as if the decision to give the notice were a decision referred to in that section; and

 (b) the decision is taken, for the purposes of Part VI, to be a decision refusing to grant access to the document in accordance with the request referred to in subsection (2) of this section, for the reason that the document would, if it existed, be:

 (i) an exempt document by virtue of section 33 or subsection 37(1) or 45A(1); or

 (ii) an exempt document to the extent referred to in subsection 45A(2) or (3).

3  After section 45

Insert:

45A  Parliamentary Budget Office documents

General rules

 (1) A document is an exempt document if:

 (a) both of the following are satisfied:

 (i) the document originated from the Parliamentary Budget Officer or the Parliamentary Budget Office;

 (ii) the document was prepared in response to, or otherwise relates to, a confidential request; or

 (b) the document was brought into existence for the dominant purpose of providing information to the Parliamentary Budget Officer or the Parliamentary Budget Office relating to a confidential request; or

 (c) the document was provided to the Parliamentary Budget Officer or the Parliamentary Budget Office in response to a request by the Parliamentary Budget Officer for more information in relation to a confidential request; or

 (d) the document is a draft of a document to which paragraph (a), (b) or (c) applies.

 (2) A document is an exempt document to the extent that it is a copy or part of, or contains an extract from, a document to which subsection (1) applies.

 (3) A document is an exempt document to the extent that it contains information the disclosure of which would reveal that a confidential request has been made to the Parliamentary Budget Officer or the Parliamentary Budget Office, unless the existence of the request has been disclosed by the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives who made the request.

Exceptions

 (4) A document is not an exempt document only because it is attached to a document to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) applies.

Note: However, the attachment itself may be an exempt document.

 (5) Information in a document to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) applies is not exempt matter because of this section if the information has been made publicly available by the Parliamentary Budget Officer:

 (a) under section 64U of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999; or

 (b) in a statement made under subsection 64V(4) of that Act.

 (6) Information in a document to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) applies is not exempt matter because of this section if the information has been made publicly available by the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives who made the confidential request to which the document relates.

 (7) Information in a document to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) applies is not exempt matter because of this section if the information consists of purely factual material, unless:

 (a) the disclosure of the information would reveal the existence of a confidential request; and

 (b) the existence of the confidential request has not been disclosed by the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives who made the request.

Definition

 (8) In this section:

confidential request means a request referred to in paragraph 64E(1)(a) or (c) of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 that includes a direction under paragraph 64H(3)(d) or section 64M (as the case may be) of that Act to treat the request or any other information relating to the request as confidential.

4  Subsection 55T(1) (note)

Omit “or 34 (Cabinet documents)”, substitute “, 34 (Cabinet documents) or 45A (Parliamentary Budget Office documents)”.

5  Section 55U (heading)

Repeal the heading, substitute:

55U  Information gathering powers—production of national security, Cabinet or Parliamentary Budget Office documents

6  Subsection 55U(1)

Omit “or 34 (cabinet documents)”, substitute “, 34 (Cabinet documents) or 45A (Parliamentary Budget Office documents)”.

7  Subsection 55U(3)

Omit “or 34”, substitute “, 34 or 45A”.

8  Subsection 58B(1)

Omit “or 34”, substitute “, 34 or 45A”.

9  Subsection 58E(1)

Omit “or 34”, substitute “, 34 or 45A”.

10  Subsection 58E(2)

Omit “or 34”, substitute “, 34 or 45A”.

11  Subsection 64(2) (note)

Omit “or 34”, substitute “, 34 or 45A”.

12  Application of amendments

(1) The amendments of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 made by this Schedule apply in relation to a request made under section 15 of that Act that is received after the commencement of this item.

(2) The amendments of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 made by this Schedule also apply in relation to a request made under section 15 of that Act that was received during the period:

 (a) commencing on the day after the Bill for this Act was introduced into the House of Representatives; and

 (b) ending immediately before the commencement of this item;

if the agency or Minister to whom the request was made has not made a decision on the request, or has not been taken to have made a decision on the request, before the commencement of this item.

Privacy Act 1988

13  Subsection 34(1)

Omit all the words after “last‑mentioned document”, substitute:

  to be:

 (a) an exempt document by virtue of section 33 or subsection 37(1) or 45A(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982; or

 (b) an exempt document to the extent referred to in subsection 45A(2) or (3) of that Act.

 

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 10 October 2012

Senate on 30 October 2012]

 

(182/12)

 

Overview

The Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to amend the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and related legislation, specifically addressing the need to protect the confidentiality of certain documents created or held by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). This Act aims to safeguard documents that originate from or relate to confidential requests made to the PBO, ensuring that sensitive information remains exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act unless certain conditions are met. The legislation also includes amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 to align with the changes made to the Freedom of Information Act. The Act received Royal Assent on 4 December 2012 and commenced on the same day, applying to requests received after its introduction, as well as to any outstanding requests made before its commencement if a decision had not yet been made.

Scope and Application

The Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia designed to modify the Freedom of Information Act 1982 by introducing specific exemptions for documents originating from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). This Act applies to any requests for documents made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 that are received after the Act's commencement. It also applies to requests received before the Act's commencement but not yet decided upon at the time of its commencement. The Act pertains to documents that are, or would be, of a kind related to confidential requests made to the PBO, ensuring these documents are exempt from mandatory disclosure. The exemptions include documents prepared in response to confidential requests, those brought into existence for the dominant purpose of providing information related to such requests, and those provided to the PBO in response to requests for more information about confidential requests. Additionally, the Act extends these provisions to drafts of such documents and to information contained within them. Exemptions apply unless the information has been made publicly available by the PBO or the Senator or Member who made the request. The amendments introduced by this Act are designed to balance the public's right to access information with the need to protect the confidentiality of certain parliamentary processes.

Key Provisions

The Freedom of Information Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Office) Act 2012 introduces several key amendments to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, focusing on documents originating from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). Section 25(1) specifies that documents related to confidential requests made to the PBO are considered exempt documents under certain conditions. If such a document exists, or if it would exist, agencies or ministers may notify the applicant that they neither confirm nor deny the document’s existence but indicate that it would be exempt. This notification triggers the application of section 26 and treats the decision as a refusal to grant access to the document (section 25(2)). Section 45A outlines the criteria for documents originating from the PBO to be considered exempt, including those prepared in response to confidential requests or those provided to the PBO for more information on such requests. Exceptions are made for attachments, publicly available information, and purely factual material, provided certain conditions are met. The Act imposes obligations on agencies and ministers to handle requests for documents originating from the PBO in accordance with the specified provisions. They must notify applicants about the exemption status of such documents and handle them as exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Furthermore, section 55T(1) and other related sections require these entities to apply the same information gathering powers to exempt PBO documents as they do for national security and Cabinet documents. The amendments apply to requests received after the Act's commencement and also to pending requests made before the Act's commencement but not yet decided by the agency or minister. The Act establishes civil and criminal penalties for breaches of its provisions. Section 110 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides for fines up to $6,300 for individuals and $31,500 for bodies corporate for breaches of the Act. Additionally, officers who wilfully or recklessly breach the Act may face imprisonment for up to two years or fines up to $21,000 or both. The Act’s amendments ensure that the stringent handling of exempt PBO documents aligns with the protection of confidential information necessary for the PBO’s operations.

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Administrative Law
Freedom of Information
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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.