Committee: Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
Date referred: 4 September 2025
Submissions close: 1 October 2025
Reporting date: 3 December 2025

On 4 September 2025, the Senate referred the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by Wednesday, 3 December 2025.

The Bill would amend the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) and the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 to modernise the Freedom of Information framework, reduce system inefficiencies, address abuses of process, and clarify the operation of certain provisions and exemptions within the FOI Act.

The committee’s role is to examine the Bill and submissions must directly address the proposed legislation.

While the committee is interested in hearing from individuals with lived experience of the FOI framework, the committee cannot investigate or affect the outcome of individual cases.

You should also be aware that if a submission reflects adversely on another party (for example, makes allegations of a serious nature such as incompetence, negligence, corruption or criminal conduct), the committee is generally required to provide that party access to the submission and an opportunity to respond. It is also open to the committee to decline to accept or decline to publish a submission that contains adverse reflections.