Hansard debates

                    FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL
                                 Second reading

  Mrs WADE (Attorney-General) -- I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
The  Freedom  of  Information  Act  1982  seeks to strike a balance between  the
public's right to obtain information about the  government  on  the one hand and
the need for  the protection of the legitimate privacy of governmental officials
on the other  hand. To  this end,  the act  provides an  exemption for documents
which contain  information which relates  to  the personal affairs  of  a person
other than the FOI applicant.

Naturally,  in  these  circumstances,  the  document  may,  subject  to  another
exemption applying, be released with the personal information being deleted.
Currently, the act exempts from release a document if  the release would involve
an unreasonable disclosure  of information relating  to the personal affairs  of
another  person. Hence a determination of the release of a questionable document
involves a twofold analysis: the  agency or minister must  determine whether the
information in the document  relates to the personal affairs of another; and, if
it does, whether the release of that information would amount to an unreasonable
disclosure.
The act does not define information which relates to the personal affairs of any
person.

Existing  Victorian  case law has held that a person's name or other identifying
details do  amount to personal information  and so render a  document containing
that information exempt -- that is, as I have said, releasable with the deletion
of that information. In the past,  departments have removed personal information
from requested documents on this basis.
The  recent Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal  decision  of  Coulston,
however, went against this line of authority. In that case, the  tribunal  ruled
that  a  hospital  roster showing  the names  of nursing  staff  on  duty  on  a
particular night  did not contain  the personal information of  those nurses and
was, as a result, releasable under the act.
As the  tribunal ruled that the roster did not contain information which related
to the personal affairs of another, it  did not  need to  determine whether  the
release of the document would amount to an unreasonable disclosure.

Because  the applicant in  the decision was a  convicted murderer, certain alarm
was raised by the effect of  the decision because it was thought that the safety
of the nurses was put at risk by the release of their names to the applicant.
The  government seeks  always  and  strenuously  to  protect  its  officers  and
employees from unwarranted 
invasion of privacy and threat of harm. Accordingly, it has decided to amend the
act so that:
        the  act makes it clear that a third  party's  name,  address  or  other
        identifying information is personal information;

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        if  an agency or minister determines that the document contains personal
        information, it must delete  it from the document prior to releasing  it
        under the act;
        an FOI applicant may apply to  VCAT  to  have  the  document released in
        full.  VCAT  will  determine  whether   the   release  of  the  personal
        information  would  be reasonable in all the  circumstances.  The  third
        party will be given an opportunity to intervene in the proceedings;
        the act will include  a safeguard so that a document containing personal
        information may  not be  released if  to do so would be contrary to  the
        public interest  or  would endanger the  life or physical safety  of any
        person;

        the bill seeks to prevent VCAT from holding a hearing where neither  the
        agency  or minister nor the third party has any objection to the release
        of the personal information.  The bill will require  VCAT to release the
        document in full where the tribunal:
has received  notice from the agency or minister that they do  not object to the
release of the document in full; and
has not  received any  notice from the  third party  that the  third party  will
intervene in the proceedings.
In these circumstances, there will be no need for VCAT to hold a hearing and the
applicant will be refunded any application fee paid to VCAT.

These amendments seek  to ensure that  governmental officers and employees have,
in  suitable  circumstances, their  identities protected  from  disclosure. Such
disclosure will only be made if:
        it is reasonable in the circumstances;
        their life or physical safety is not put at risk; or
        neither they nor the agency or minister  for  whom  they work objects to
        that disclosure.
This  amendment will allow for suitable involvement of the third  party  in  the
decision as to whether the release would be reasonable or not and thus give them
an opportunity to put forward their case against the release.

I commend the bill to the house.
Debate adjourned on motion of