A review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has found that while Australian Government agencies are generally meeting their Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosure log obligations, many are not publishing information within the timeframe required by law.
The OAIC examined the disclosure logs of 30 agencies to assess compliance with s 11C of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and OAIC FOI guidelines.
The review found that agencies' disclosure logs were largely compliant overall. However, 20 agencies (~67%) had not published all disclosure log entries in the 2024-25 financial year within the legislatively required timeframe. The OAIC was unable to assess compliance against this requirement for a further 4 agencies (~13%).
The FOI Act generally requires agencies to publish information released under FOI on their disclosure log within 10 working days of giving access to an applicant. This ensures that the wider community have access to eligible government information, which is a national resource, in a timely manner.
The FOI Commissioner, Alice Linacre, said disclosure logs play an important role in supporting open government and public access to information.
Disclosure logs help ensure information released through the FOI process is available to everyone, not just the original applicant.
'While overall compliance was strong, agencies can improve the timeliness, accessibility and usability of information published on their disclosure logs.'
Most agencies had adopted several better-practice features recommended in the FOI Guidelines. For example, making disclosure logs easy to find, providing embedded search functionality, offering filtering and sorting options, publishing clear descriptions of released information, and making documents available in more than one accessible format.
The review identified several opportunities for agencies to further strengthen their compliance with the FOI Act and improve public access to information.
The OAIC recommends agencies:
- improve accessibility and searchability of disclosure logs
- ensure disclosure logs remain up to date, including after review processes
- strengthen reporting and governance arrangements to support compliance.
The review supports the OAIC's ongoing work to promote best practice FOI administration.
Background
- Agency FOI disclosure logs directory (27 March 2026)
- Disclosure log desktop review (16 September 2021)
