Freedom of Information
7. Make a Complaint
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 27 Jul 2015
- The government department or agency is required to provide reasons if they decline to provide you with access to the information you seek.
- Their reasons are usually to do with the public interest. This means that they will not give you access to the information if their policy guidelines suggest it is against the public interest to do so.
- You may lodge a complaint to a relevant body if:
- you are unhappy with their decision to deny you access to information;
- you are unhappy with the way your request was handled; or
- you want to stop a third party accessing your personal information or business-related information that has commercial value.
- Your lawyer may also assist you in lodging a complaint or request for external review with the relevant body.
- The relevant bodies and complaint procedures for the Commonwealth and each state or territory are listed below.
- Commonwealth:
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
- Commonwealth Ombudsman:
- Australian Capital Territory:
- first seek an internal review from the department or agency you lodged your FOI application with;
- if you are still unhappy after the internal review, contact the ACT Administrative and Civil Appeals Tribunal for an external review;
- ACT Administrative and Civil Appeals Tribunal (ACAT):
- New South Wales:
- first seek an internal review from the department or agency you lodged your FOI application with;
- if you are still unhappy after the internal review you can contact the NSW Information Commissioner and request an external review;
- if you are still unhappy consider lodging an application for the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to review the decision of the department or agency with whom you lodged your FOI application. Fees may apply;
- NSW Information Commissioner:
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
- Northern Territory:
- Information Commissioner:
- Queensland:
- Information Commissioner:
- Phone: (07) 3234 7373;
- Email: enquiries@oic.qld.gov.au;
- Website: www.oic.qld.gov.au.
- South Australia:
- first seek an internal review of the decision from the department or agency you lodged your FOI application with;
- if you are still unhappy after the internal review you may:
- request the Police Ombudsman to conduct an external review of a decision where the decision-maker was a police officer or Minister for Police; or
- seek an external review by the South Australian Ombudsman if the decision was made by any other government department or agency;
- Police Ombudsman:
- Phone: (08) 8226 8677;
- Email: policeombudsman@agd.sa.gov.au;
- Website: www.policeombudsman.sa.gov.au;
- South Australian Ombudsman:
- Phone: (08) 8226 8699;
- Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.sa.gov.au;
- Website: www.ombudsman.sa.gov.au.
- Tasmania:
- first seek an internal review of the decision from the department or agency you lodged your FOI application with;
- note that internal review is not available for decisions made by a Minister;
- if you are still unhappy after the internal review or if the decision was made by a Minister, apply to the Tasmanian Ombudsman for external review;
- Tasmanian Ombudsman:
- Western Australia:
- Information Commissioner:
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