FOI Fundamentals

This six-part course provides attendees with an overview of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) as well as the process and obligations of agencies managing FOI requests under the FOI Act. Each module is delivered as a stand-alone one hour CLE and must be completed in this order.

CPD eligibility: 6 points

Course outline

The course outline is below or you can download our flyer.

Part one: Overview of FOI Act (1 hour)

Object of the FOI Act.
Scope of the FOI Act.
- what is “government information”?
- what is a “record”?
- when is a record “held”?
What is a valid FOI request?
Who can seek access and how?
Timeframes and how to proactively manage them.

Part two: Commonwealth contracts (1 hour)

Eligible Commonwealth contracts.
Standard contract terms.

Part three: Third party consultation (1 hour)

When to undertake third-party consultation.
How to undertake third-party consultation.
Impact on timeframes.
Third-party appeal rights.

Part four: Role of an FOI officer (1 hour)

Proactively managing the process.
Search obligations.
Decision-making.
Refusals:
- information not held
- voluminous request
- information already available.

Part five: Exemptions and conditional exemptions (1 hour)

Exemptions,
Conditional exemptions,
Balancing the public interest:
- factors in favour of disclosure
- factors against disclosure
- balancing the factors.

Part six: Risks and review process (1 hour)

Risks.
Review of options:
- Internal review
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Review
- Administrative Appeals Tribunal review.

Cost

$1,190 plus GST per person.

2024 Course Dates

Online — Course dates coming soon.

Organisational training

This course can also be delivered on site within your Agency or organisation. Please email government.training@sparke.com.au for more details.