MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) warns that the Albanese government is set to weaken our government’s transparency framework and its accountability by using its numbers to bulldoze the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 (FOIA Bill) through Parliament without amendment when it resumes this week, despite overwhelming and well-reasoned opposition to the Bill.
It seems the Albanese government, despite having received more than 60 submissions strongly opposing the FOIA Bill and calling for its retraction, is poised to ram the the Bill through the parliament in the same shameless, autocratic fashion that it passed the Social Media Minimum Age Bill 2024 in the face of strong opposition from the public, civil society organisations, media and academia.
A Step in the Wrong Direction
While EFA supports modernising the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), the current FOIA Bill departs from its foundational pro-disclosure stance and introduces a range of new anti-transparency restrictions. By restricting access to government information, the Bill significantly weakens the foundations of Australian democracy by reducing both government transparency and accountability.
John Pane, Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, issued the following comments:
“Freedom of Information is not a “nice to have”; it is a fundamental right that underpins democratic accountability. At a time when integrity in public administration is under strain and trust in government is at an all-time low, Parliament should be strengthening FOI. Instead, this Bill makes the system slower, more costly, and less accessible. It effectively hands the government another ‘get out of jail free’ card in respect of being able to more frequently refuse access to government records and the decisions they contain.”
If allowed to pass the FOIA Bill would:
- Ban anonymous and pseudonymous FOI requests, silencing whistleblowers and deterring people in vulnerable situations. As the Centre for Public Integrity warns, this will have “a worrying impact on vulnerable individuals, particularly potential Whistleblowers.”
- Introduce application and review fees, creating a financial barrier to exercising a fundamental democratic right. Shadow Attorney‑General Julian Leeser has called this a “truth tax.“
- Expand Cabinet and deliberative exemptions, going directly against the lessons of the Robodebt Royal Commission. Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes recommended repealing Cabinet secrecy provisions.
- Grant Commonwealth agencies new refusal powers, allowing them to dismiss persistent or “vexatious” requests, and impose a 40 HOUR hard cap on processing .
The Need for Major Reform, Not Restriction
“A well-functioning FOI system incentivises sound decision-making by public bodies,” said Pane. “It allows journalists, civil society and ordinary Australians to scrutinise government actions and ask legitimate questions about their decision making. We need a full-scale review of the FOI Act to ensure it is fit for purpose, and is built on foundations of governmental openness and disclosure rather than enhanced obfuscation.”
Pane further said: “Public access to government information is a keystone of Australia’s integrity landscape and creating and funding a robust, effective, and pro-disclosure FOI system is undeniably in the public interest.”
See EFA’s previous submission on the FOIA Bill here under Tab Four.
What Can Australians Do?
EFA urges Australians to contact their elected representatives and demand the FOI Amendment Bill be voted down. Tell your MP and Senators that our FOI system must be strengthened, not weakened. Use the AEC Find my Electorate tool to locate your Federal Member of Parliament or Senator.
Image credit: Unsplash/Marcus Winkler.