A scathing audit report has found nearly 80% of freedom of information requests to Anthony Albanese’s department, Treasury and the infrastructure department were rejected, creating a culture of “resistance and delay” in the Australian parliament.
The review of FoI administration found there was no consistent, transparent or accountable decision-making around requests and the pro-disclosure objectives of the law were being flouted.
The auditor general considered some of more than 43,000 applications received by the Albanese government in 2024-25, finding the departments did not have appropriate policies and procedures to meet transparency obligations and were not maintaining adequate FoI records.
Last financial year, 79% of applications were refused in full or in part and 57% of applications resulted in no documents being released.
Department disclosure logs for FoI applications were found to be incomplete and not in accordance with the law while 63% of requests were subject to longer response times than the mandated 30-day deadline.
Among application decisions referred to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for review, 62% were decisions that were changed or overturned, indicating bureaucrats were not adhering fully towards disclosing official information.
“The three audited entities are unable to demonstrate that they have met the obligation to take all reasonable steps to find requested documents,” the report found.
“Entities are not maintaining adequate records of the searches they undertake in response to FoI applications to assure completeness. Entity records also do not consistently support decisions to refuse access because records could not be located or do not exist.”
There was a 25% increase in the number of FoI applications across government last financial year.
Gabrielle Appleby, the head of research for the Centre for Public Integrity, said the audit report was supposed to provide parliament with assurances on effective administration of FoI rules.
“Unfortunately, its findings do anything but,” she said.
“The report confirms that Australia’s FoI system is not operating as a mechanism of transparency and accountability, but within a government culture of poor record-keeping, resistance and delay.
“With findings of this nature, it is not enough to simply put the ball back in departments’ court and trust assurances from government that things will improve.”
Appleby called for a comprehensive and independent review of the FoI system.
The 1982 Freedom of Information Act allows members of the public to request official documents from government ministers, departments and agencies. Strict rules govern what information can be withheld, but the system is often slow and can result in heavily redacted information being released.
In March, Labor dumped its controversial plans to overhaul FoI rules, which would have imposed new fees and further reduced transparency, conceding the laws had no viable pathway through parliament.
The government argued changes were required because public servants were spending too much time responding to requests for government information and decision-making.
Labor’s proposal would also have implemented new charges for journalists, politicians and other experts seeking access to government information. Similar charges at the state and territory level can be around $50 each.
An FoI inquiry in 2023 described the system as “dysfunctional and broken” owing to years of funding cuts, as well as an absence of consequences and a lack of senior pro-disclosure leaders across the public service.
