Members of the public are entitled to make a request for access to documents held by State government departments and agencies, and local councils, under the Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).

There are similar rights to obtain documents held by Commonwealth government departments and agencies under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).

If you have been unable to obtain information or documents from a government department or agency then your first step should be to determine whether that department or agency is related to Commonwealth or State Government. Once you have done this you can view the information below:

Commonwealth and Victorian laws allow you to make a request for a document of an agency or in the possession of an agency, other than an exempt document; or an official document of a Minister, other than an exempt document.

“Document” is a broad term which includes;

• any book, map, plan, graph or drawing;
• any photograph;
• any label marking or other writing which identifies or describes any thing of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means whatsoever;
• any disc tape, sound track or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images)
• any film, negative tape or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable of being reproduced;
• anything on which is marked any words, figures, letters or symbols which are capable of carrying a definite meaning to persons conversant with them;
• any copy, reproduction or duplicate of any thing referred to above, but does not include such library material as is maintained for reference purposes.

(See Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act (Vic) (1982), and Part 2 and 3 of the Freedom of Information Act (Cth) (1982))

• Freedom Of Information in Victoria

• Commonwealth Freedom Of Information