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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
TASMANIA
__________
RIGHT TO INFORMATION AMENDMENT BILL
2011
__________
CONTENTS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Commencement
PART 2 - RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2009 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
4. Section 6 amended (Exclusions of certain persons or bodies)
5. Section 15 amended (Time within which applications for
assessed disclosure of information are to be decided)
6. Section 19 amended (Applications may be refused if resources
unreasonably diverted)
7. Section 22 amended (Reasons to be given)
8. Section 23 amended (Other responsibilities of principal officer)
9. Part 3, Division 1: Heading amended
10. Section 33 amended (Public interest test)
11. Section 36 amended (Personal information of person)
12. Section 42 amended (Information likely to affect cultural,
heritage and natural resources of the State)
13. Section 45 amended (Other applications for review)
14. Section 46 amended (Review where decisions delayed)
15. Section 47 amended (Powers of Ombudsman)
[Bill 13]-I
16. Section 48 amended (Decisions of Ombudsman)
17. Schedule 2 amended (Matters Irrelevant to Assessment of Public
Interest)
18. Schedule 3 amended (Matters Relevant to Assessment of
Refusing Application)
PART 3 - CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS AND THEIR FAMILIES
ACT 1997 AMENDED
19. Principal Act
20. Section 111A amended (Access to information under Right to
Information Act 2009)
PART 4 - POLICE POWERS (CONTROLLED OPERATIONS) ACT
2006 AMENDED
21. Principal Act
22. Section 7 amended (Relationship to other laws and matters)
PART 5 - MISCELLANEOUS
23. Repeal of Act
2
RIGHT TO INFORMATION AMENDMENT BILL
2011
(Brought in by the Minister for Justice, the Honourable David
John Bartlett)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Right to Information Act 2009
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Right to
Information Amendment Act 2011.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
[Bill 13] 3
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
s. 3 Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended
PART 2 - RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2009
AMENDED
3. Principal Act
In this Part, the Right to Information Act 2009*
is referred to as the Principal Act.
4. Section 6 amended (Exclusions of certain persons or
bodies)
Section 6(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from paragraph (q)
"Parliament." and substituting
"Parliament;";
(b) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (q):
(r) the Parole Board.
5. Section 15 amended (Time within which
applications for assessed disclosure of information
are to be decided)
Section 15(1) of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "enable an applicant to be notified" and
substituting "notify an applicant".
*No. 70 of 2009
4
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended s. 6
6. Section 19 amended (Applications may be refused if
resources unreasonably diverted)
Section 19(1) of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "a request" and substituting "an
application or a number of applications from the
same person".
7. Section 22 amended (Reasons to be given)
Section 22(1)(c) of the Principal Act is amended
by omitting "section 19 or 20" and substituting
"section 10(1), 12(3)(c), 19 or 20".
8. Section 23 amended (Other responsibilities of
principal officer)
Section 23(1)(c) of the Principal Act is amended
by omitting "details on" and substituting "an
overview of".
9. Part 3, Division 1: Heading amended
Division 1 of Part 3 of the Principal Act is
amended by omitting "Exemptions not subject
to public interest test" from the heading to that
Division and substituting "General exemptions".
5
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
s. 10 Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended
10. Section 33 amended (Public interest test)
Section 33 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting subsection (1) and substituting the
following subsection:
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
the following provisions of this Division,
information is only exempt information
under any of those provisions if the
principal officer of the public authority
or Minister considers, after taking into
account all relevant matters, that it is
contrary to the public interest to disclose
the information.
11. Section 36 amended (Personal information of
person)
Section 36(2)(b) of the Principal Act is amended
by omitting "by" and substituting "about".
12. Section 42 amended (Information likely to affect
cultural, heritage and natural resources of the
State)
Section 42 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting in paragraph (c) ", heritage"
after "cultural";
(b) by inserting in paragraph (d) ", heritage"
after "cultural".
6
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended s. 13
13. Section 45 amended (Other applications for review)
Section 45 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting subsection (2) and substituting the
following subsection:
(2) If a person has applied for information in
accordance with section 13, another
person may apply to the Ombudsman for
review if -
(a) a Minister or public authority has
decided not to consult the person
under section 36(2) or
section 37(2) and the person
believes that he or she is a person
who was required to be
consulted; or
(b) a decision has been made on a
review under section 43 and a
person, other than the person who
applied for the review, is
adversely affected by the
decision -
and if the application for review is
lodged within 20 days of the date of the
notice of the decision under section 22.
14. Section 46 amended (Review where decisions
delayed)
Section 46(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
7
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
s. 15 Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended
(a) by omitting "taken to have made" and
substituting "taken to have provided";
(b) by inserting "a notice of" after "period,".
15. Section 47 amended (Powers of Ombudsman)
Section 47 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (l) in subsection (1):
(la) to decline an application for
review that the Ombudsman
considers is one of an
unreasonably large number of
applications from the same
person;
(b) by omitting from subsection (5)
"overturn a decision if that" and
substituting "determine the outcome of a
review on the basis that the".
16. Section 48 amended (Decisions of Ombudsman)
Section 48(4) of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting paragraph (b) and substituting the
following paragraph:
(b) may issue any decision or statement of
reasons in terms which neither confirm
nor deny the existence of any
8
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
Part 2 - Right to Information Act 2009 Amended s. 17
information which, on a ground specified
in Division 1 of Part 3, would be exempt
information.
17. Schedule 2 amended (Matters Irrelevant to
Assessment of Public Interest)
Clause 1 of Schedule 2 to the Principal Act is
amended as follows:
(a) by omitting from paragraph (a)
"document" twice occurring and
substituting "information";
(b) by omitting from paragraph (d)
"contained in the document";
(c) by omitting from paragraph (d)
"document" second occurring and
substituting "information".
18. Schedule 3 amended (Matters Relevant to
Assessment of Refusing Application)
Clause 1 of Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is
amended as follows:
(a) by omitting from paragraph (a)
"document" and substituting
"information";
(b) by omitting from paragraph (b)
"document or documents" and
substituting "information".
9
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
s. 19 Part 3 - Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 Amended
PART 3 - CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS AND THEIR
FAMILIES ACT 1997 AMENDED
19. Principal Act
In this Part, the Children, Young Persons and
Their Families Act 1997* is referred to as the
Principal Act.
20. Section 111A amended (Access to information
under Right to Information Act 2009)
Section 111A of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1)
"Freedom of Information Act 1991" and
substituting "Right to Information Act
2009";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)
"Freedom of Information Act 1991" and
substituting "Right to Information Act
2009".
*No. 28 of 1997
10
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
Part 4 - Police Powers (Controlled Operations) Act 2006 Amended s. 21
PART 4 - POLICE POWERS (CONTROLLED
OPERATIONS) ACT 2006 AMENDED
21. Principal Act
In this Part, the Police Powers (Controlled
Operations) Act 2006* is referred to as the
Principal Act.
22. Section 7 amended (Relationship to other laws and
matters)
Section 7(8)(b) of the Principal Act is amended
by omitting "Freedom of Information Act 1991"
and substituting "Right to Information Act
2009".
*No. 21 of 2006
11
Right to Information Amendment Act 2011
Act No. of
s. 23 Part 5 - Miscellaneous
PART 5 - MISCELLANEOUS
23. Repeal of Act
This Act is repealed on the ninetieth day from
the day on which it commences.
12 Government Printer, Tasmania