An access application may be made for information held by the Commission - other than certain excluded information, set out below. Access applications are subject to application fees and processing charges in accordance with the GIPA Act.
Although an access application may be made for government information held by the Commission, the Commission will not release information if there is an overriding public interest against the disclosure of the information. Some of the particular information that the Commission cannot release in response to an access application includes:
- Cabinet information (as defined in item 2 of Schedule 1 of the GIPA Act)
- Executive Council information (as defined in item 3 of Schedule 1 of the GIPA Act)
- Documents that are subject to Parliamentary privilege, such as draft answers to Questions on Notice (item 4 of Schedule 1 of the GIPA Act) and
- Information in relation to the inquiry functions of the Commissioner under section 83 of the GSE Act (or under section 82 of the GSE Act if the Commissioner is directed to conduct a special inquiry)
Otherwise, the Department will release information in response to a valid access application unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.