Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2016 - SECT 23

What is open access information?

    (1)     In this Act:

"open access information", of an agency, means government information held by the agency that came into existence on or after 1 January 2018 and that is or is in 1 or more of the following:

        (a)     functional information including a statement setting out particulars of the agency, including agency structure, functions, kinds of government information held and how requests for information may be made;

        (b)     information about the agency or the work of the agency contained in any document tabled in the Legislative Assembly by or for the agency;

        (c)     the agency's policy documents;

        (d)     budget papers and Appropriation Acts presented to the Legislative Assembly under the Financial Management Act 1996

;

        (e)     information about government grants made or administered by the agency;

        (f)     the agency's disclosure log;

Note     Disclosure log —see s 28.

        (g)     a statement listing all boards, councils, committees, panels and other bodies that have been established by the agency (whether under an Act or otherwise) for the purpose of advising the agency or a Minister responsible for the agency;

        (h)     any report or recommendation prepared by a body mentioned in paragraph (g);

              (i)     any of the following ministerial briefs prepared by the agency that are 5 or more years old:

              (i)     incoming ministerial briefs;

              (ii)     parliamentary estimates briefs;

              (iii)     annual reports briefs;

              (iv)     question time briefs;

        (j)     information an agency undertakes to make publicly available under section 29 (Agency publication undertakings);

        (k)     information declared by the ombudsman to be open access information;

Note     See s 65 (Open access information declarations).

        (l)     information prescribed by regulation.

"open access information", of a Minister—

        (a)     means government information held by the Minister that came into existence on or after 1 January 2018 and is, or is in, 1 or more of the following:

              (i)     the Minister's disclosure log;

              (ii)     information about ministerial and ministerial staff travel and hospitality expenses;

              (iii)     a copy of the Minister's diary that sets out all meetings, events and functions attended by the Minister that relate to the Minister's responsibilities;

              (iv)     information declared by the ombudsman to be open access information;

              (v)     information prescribed by regulation; and

        (b)     for the Chief Minister—

              (i)     includes the following information about each Cabinet or Cabinet committee decision made after the commencement of this Act:

    (A)     a summary of the decision;

    (B)     the decision reference number;

    (C)     the date when the decision was made;

    (D)     the wellbeing impact assessment for the decision on ACT Government priorities and emerging issues; but

              (ii)     does not include information about a decision of Cabinet or a Cabinet committee in relation to a proposed budget for the Territory if the proposed budget has not been presented to the Legislative Assembly under the Financial Management Act 1996

, section 10 (Budget papers).

    (2)     In this section:

"policy document"—

        (a)     includes any of the following:

              (i)     a document containing interpretations, rules, guidelines, statements of policy, practices or precedents;

              (ii)     a document containing a statement about how an Act or administrative scheme is to be administered;

              (iii)     a document describing the procedures to be followed in investigating a contravention or possible contravention of an Act or administrative scheme;

              (iv)     another document of a similar kind used to assist the agency to exercise its functions; but

        (b)     does not include a draft of a document mentioned in paragraph (a).



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