Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2016 - SECT 38

    (1)     This section applies if the respondent to an access application considers that—

        (a)     some or all of the government information applied for is not contrary to the public interest information; but

        (b)     disclosure of the information may reasonably be expected to be of concern to a person or another entity other than the Territory (a relevant third party ).

    (2)     The respondent must take reasonable steps to consult with the relevant third party before deciding to give access to the information.

    (3)     Disclosure of government information may reasonably be expected to be of concern to a relevant third party if—

        (a)     for a relevant third party that is an individual—

              (i)     the information is personal information about the individual; or

              (ii)     the disclosure of the information would, or could reasonably be expected to, affect the person's rights under the Human Rights Act 2004

; or

        (b)     for a relevant third party that is a government or government agency—the information concerns the affairs of the government or agency; or

        (c)     the information concerns the trade secrets, business affairs, or research of the relevant third party.

    (4)     If disclosure of government information may reasonably be expected to be of concern to a person because the information is personal information about the person but the person is deceased, subsection (2) applies as if an eligible family member of the person were a relevant third party.

    (5)     The respondent, in consulting with a relevant third party, must—

        (a)     ask the relevant third party whether it objects to the disclosure of the government information; and

        (b)     if the relevant third party objects to the disclosure—invite the relevant third party to provide its views, within 10 working days, on whether the information is contrary to the public interest information; and

        (c)     tell the relevant third party that if access is given to the information in response to the application, the information (other than personal information) will be made available to the public through the disclosure log of the respondent under section 28.

    (6)     After obtaining the views of a relevant third party, the respondent must—

        (a)     tell the relevant third party of the respondent's decision on the access application; and

        (b)     if the relevant third party has told the respondent that it objects to the disclosure of the government information—defer giving access to the information of concern to the relevant third party until after—

              (i)     the respondent is given written notice by the relevant third party that it does not intend to make an application for review of the decision; or

              (ii)     if notice is not given under subparagraph (i) and no application for review under part 8 is made by the end of the review period—the end of the review period; or

              (iii)     if an application for review under part 8 is made during the review period—the review has ended.

    (7)     The respondent must give the applicant written notice when access is no longer deferred under subsection (6) (b).

    (8)     In this section:

"eligible family member", of a deceased person—see schedule 2 (Factors to be considered when deciding the public interest), section 2.3.

"review period" means the period within which an application for review under part 8 may be made.