Labor lodges Administrative Appeals Tribunal complaint

Labor has referred the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to Australia’s federal privacy body, citing ‘inexcusable’ and ‘wilful’ breaches of Freedom of Information law.

Opposition legal affairs spokes­man Mark Dreyfus. Picture: AAP

Labor has referred the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to Australia’s federal privacy body, citing “inexcusable” and “wilful” breaches of Freedom of Information law.

It comes after The Australian last week revealed the AAT had been breaking FOI law for almost two years, despite being respon­sible for overseeing how other government agencies adhered to the legislation. The AAT had breached its responsibility to maintain an up-to-date disclosure log of information released under FOI laws.

Opposition legal affairs spokes­man Mark Dreyfus made a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner after the AAT failed to meet an extended deadline for an FOI request he lodged. The request related to communication between the tribunal and then attorney-general Christian Porter.

In the complaint, a representative for Mr Dreyfus said the tribunal’s handling of the FOI request was “contrary to previous provisions of the Freedom of Information Act”.

“The tribunal’s conduct has – over a period of months – been contrary to the objects of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, which include the promotion of Australia’s representative democracy by increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and ­review of the government’s activities,” it said.

“It appears the tribunal’s failure to process the request is both inexcusable and wilful.”

Mr Dreyfus said there was a strong public interest in investigating the tribunal’s conduct.

“The tribunal is an independent statutory agency which the parliament has tasked with conducting merits review of decisions made under the FOI Act.

“It is essential the public have confidence the tribunal is complying with its own obligations under the act,” the complaint said.

A spokeswoman for the AAT said the request resulted in more than 1000 pages and “took longer than usual because it was complex, voluminous and processed under lockdown conditions”.

The AAT independently reviews decisions made by government ministers, departments and agencies. Under the FOI Act, federal ministers and agencies are required to maintain a public record of information released under FOI legislation, which­ ­allows other people to access information already released. Disclosure logs must be updated within 10 working days of a person being granted access to it.

The Coalition has come under fire in recent years from the opposition for a series of Liberal Party-linked appointments to the AAT.

Prior to the 2019 election, federal Labor said it would reinstate an independent advisory panel for AAT appointments and ­judicial appointments because of its concerns that the tribunal had been politicised by the Coalition.