Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) AMENDMENTS REGULATIONS 2004 (NO. 1) 2004 NO. 342

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 2004 No. 342

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Subject: Freedom of Information Act 1982

Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendments Regulations 2004 (No. 1)

Subsection 94(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The principal officer of an agency has responsibility under the Act for various duties and powers that are essential to the effective operation of the Act. In particular, the principal officer makes decisions in respect of requests for information, or may authorise officers of the agency to make such decisions under the Act.

A principal officer is defined in subsection 4(1) of the Act. Paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of principal officer declares the principal officer in relation to a prescribed authority as the person holding, or performing the duties of the principal office as described in the Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (the Principal Regulations).

Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations provides that the office specified in Column 3 of an item in Schedule 2 is declared to be the principal office in respect of the prescribed authority or authorities specified in Column 2 of that item.

When the Australian Crime Commission commenced operations in 2003, the need to specify a principal officer for freedom of information purposes was overlooked.

The purpose of the Regulations is to prescribe the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Crime Commission as the principal officer for the purposes of paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of principal officer in the Act.

The Regulations also update the citation of the Principal Regulations in line with current drafting practice.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Details of the Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 1)

Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations are the Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on the date of their notification in the Gazette.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Freedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (the Principal Regulations).

Schedule 1, Item 1 updates the citation of the Principal Regulations, in line with current drafting practice.

Schedule 1, Item 2 substitutes Item 12 of Schedule 2 to the Principal Regulations to specify the Australian Crime Commission in Column 2 as a Prescribed Authority and the Chief Executive Officer in Column 3 as the corresponding Office. The items currently in Item 12 in the Principal Regulations are remade as (previously vacant) Item 13.


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