Joint release with Grata Fund, Whistleblower Justice Fund, Human Rights Law Centre, Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, Australia Institute.
Today at 9:30am the Labor Government tossed its own controversial Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 from the parliament. The discharge motion was an attempt by Labor to avoid political embarrassment as Independents, Liberals, and Greens united in the Senate, planning to defeat the bill next week.
The draft legislation has faced near-universal opposition from Australia’s leading anti-corruption, media freedom, and human rights experts since it was introduced last year. The vast majority of submissions to a committee inquiry into the Bill condemned the reforms.
Australian integrity experts warned the draft laws would lead to greater government secrecy and less accountability, calling for the Bill to be withdrawn and a comprehensive, independent and open review of FOI laws be established.
The Government’s Bill would significantly restrict the ability of the community, journalists, and advocates to scrutinise the activities of ministers and agencies, including by making refusals of FOIs easier, delays longer, and imposing costs that would hinder government transparency and accountability.
Rex Patrick, Founder, Whistleblower Justice Fund, said:
“This is a victory for civil society, which has worked collectively to ensure this bill – which would have dramatically eroded transparency in Australia – did not become law. The FOI Amendment Bill is dead. Long live transparency.
“Now is the time for real reform – through an independent process. If Labor cares about transparency, now is the time to prove it. We are keen to assist in this process.”
Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“People have a right to know what governments are doing. Freedom of information is vital to a healthy, transparent, and accountable democracy. Whether it’s an individual seeking information about how their personal matter was determined by a government body, a journalist seeking documents to write a public interest story, or a civil society organisation looking to hold the government to account – freedom of information requests underpin the public’s right to know.”
This Bill would have undermined the public’s right to access government information, weakened the FOI system, and in turn weakened our democracy. We welcome the Albanese Government’s decision to remove it from the Senate. It’s time for the Government to fix the system, starting with an independent, comprehensive review of the FOI Act.”
Prof Peter Greste, Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom said:
“Freedom of Information is fundamental to the work of journalists o investigate and hold governments to account. For too long, Australia’s dysfunctional and overburdened FoI system has hindered rather than helped the situation. The need for reform is both widely recognised and long overdue, but the Albanese Government’s proposed changes were cosmetic at best, and counterproductive to the transparency that Labor says it is committed to.
The Senate’s vote to reject the Bill is good news because it now gives us a chance to set up an independent inquiry, and draft a bill that helps journalists get critical information, and to keep the public informed.”
Madeleine Burkitt, Senior Campaigner at Grata Fund, says:
“While this is a brilliant outcome for all of us who value democracy, it’s troubling that this bill was ever introduced by the Albanese Government.
This bill would have increased government secrecy, decreased accountability, and disempowered voters, many of whom elected a Labor Government off the back of an integrity agenda.
The Federal Government could not cite a single good reason for these reforms that stood up to scrutiny. We can only assume that this government wants to operate in the dark, with reduced accountability from the public.
The Labor Party should use this moment to take stock of its position on democracy, particularly within a context of widespread political disillusionment. It must commit to working with experts and civil society to actually strengthen FOI, beginning with an independent review of the FOI Act.”
Bill Browne, Director of the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program:
“The Albanese Government’s attempt to restrict freedom of information rights has been firmly rejected by the Senate, a credit to Opposition, Green and independent senators.
“An open and transparent government is the best antidote to democratic backsliding and the loss of trust in government and politicians.
“There is a good case for FOI law reform, but let’s be clear: no law is stopping Labor from ending the culture of secrecy and improving public access to documents they are entitled to.”
Jonathan Hall Spence, Principal Solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said:
‘Australia’s FOI system is broken and the Government’s proposal would have made it even harder for our clients to get justice. The bill’s failure is a win for transparency and accountability. But even with this win, we’ll keep pushing for much-needed improvements to the FOI regime. Too often we encounter a culture of secrecy, with excessive redactions and unreasonable delays. The Australian Government must now listen to the community and work with us to undertake real reform.’
