What are my rights under the Freedom of Information Act?
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (‘FOI Act’) gives you the legal right to: • See documents held by Australian Government ministers, their departments and most statutory authorities (in this pamphlet these bodies are called agencies); • Ask for information concerning you to be changed if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading; • Appeal against a decision not to grant access to a document or amend or annotate a personal record. • The FOI Act also requires agencies to make available detailed information about the: • way they are organised; • functions they have; • kinds of decisions they make; • arrangements they have for public involvement in their work; • documents they hold and how you can see them; and • rules and practices which are used in making decisions which affect you. You can look at and, if you wish, buy copies of manuals and guidelines which agencies use in making decisions which affect you. For more information on how you can see these documents tal
