Despite the title of the legislation, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FoI Act) applies to documents, not information.
The definition of 'document' under the FoI Act is very broad and includes written and electronic documents, maps, graphs and drawings. The definition would also include contracts and documents relating to a project.
There is a presumption of release and general right of access to the government party's documents under the FoI Act, unless the government party can establish a specified exemption from disclosure. This right of access exists irrespective of the purpose of the request.
Bearing this in mind, when a document is created its content should reflect the fact that any release granted under the FoI Act is unrestricted (meaning there are no restrictions on what the individual who requested the document may do with the document).
Under the FoI Act, certain documents may be exempt from access. The categories of exemption potentially relevant to contract and project management include:
• Cabinet documents (s. 28);
• internal working documents (s. 30);
• documents affecting legal proceedings (s. 32);
• documents affecting personal privacy (s. 33);
• commercial in confidence documents (s. 34);
• documents containing material obtained in confidence (s. 35); and
• disclosure contrary to public interest (s. 36).
In particular, s. 34 of the FoI Act provides a limited exemption in respect of third parties' business information acquired from a business, commercial or financial undertaking. To satisfy the requirements of s. 34 of the FoI Act, agencies must demonstrate that the disclosure of information would be likely to unreasonably expose the undertaking to disadvantage. Section 34(2) outlines the considerations that a decision maker may take into account when deciding this issue. This exemption is subject to a public interest override contained in s. 50(4) of the FoI Act.