The Government has tabled a bill that would require fees to be paid for freedom of information (FOIs) requests.
Individuals asking for personal information will be exempt.
The Government said its bill will streamline the FOI system and modernise its response.
Critics, including the Coalition and Greens, have called it a “truth tax” and are vowing to oppose the fees.
How does FOI work and why has there been a backlash to the proposed fees?
FOIs: in a nutshell
The Government holds a lot of information.
Beyond politicians, it houses large departments that can directly affect Australians lives, like social services, veterans affairs, and housing.
While the Government and its departments publish some information, more can be requested via FOI.
Journalists typically use FOIs to access undisclosed data, or find out how the Government made a particular decision.
FOIs can be requested at the local, state, and federal levels.
All state and territory governments charge fees for FOI requests, except the ACT. The fees range between $30 and $50, and can be more expensive depending on the nature of the request.
The Federal Government does not currently charge fees.
Information from intelligence agencies and cabinet documents (meetings of senior ministers) aren’t accessible.
Changes
The Federal Government has proposed introducing fees for FOI requests.
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It could parallel costs at a state and territory level, around $30-50.
Attorney General Michelle Rowland, the country’s top law officer, argued the process is outdated.
“The FOI framework is stuck in the 1980s — before the use of email became common and decades before the invention of the smartphone,” Rowland said in a statement.
The legislation would ban anonymous FOI requests, along with those considered “vexatious, abusive and frivolous”.
“In 2024, public servants spent more than a million hours processing FOI requests,” the Government said.
It said AI has helped facilitate large volumes of requests, including a website that generated 1,000 FOI requests within a few weeks.
The bill would also expand documents exempt under ‘cabinet confidentiality’ to include materials prepared for a minister before cabinet discussions.
Response
Shadow Attorney General Julian Leeser called the FOI fees a “truth tax”.
“[It] sends a clear message: Labor believe information belongs to them, not the people,” he said in a statement.
Leeser said the Opposition would review the legislation before arriving at a formal position.
However, he said he already had “serious concerns”.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge said the proposals would amount to the
“biggest restrictions” on FOIs in recent years.
“Making information only accessible to those who can pay sells us all out,” Shoebridge said.
Think tank the Australia Institute pointed to data showing the current Government processed 13,000 fewer FOI requests in 2023/24 than the final year of the Howard Government in 2006/07.
In 2023, the Centre for Public Integrity called for all existing FOI fees to be scrapped.
