What is the Right to Information?
The Right to Information Act 2009 (replacing the Freedom of Information Act 1991) commenced on 1 July 2010 and provides for greater access to information held by government bodies by:
- authorising and encouraging greater routine disclosure of information held by public authorities without the need for requests or applications
- authorising and encouraging greater active disclosure of information held by public authorities in response to informal requests without the need for applications
- giving members of the public an enforceable right to information held by public authorities, and
- providing that access to information held by government bodies is restricted in only limited circumstances which are defined in the Act.
The Department of Police and Emergency Management is a public authority.
