The Australian Government has made changes to functions overseen by the Attorney-General's Department and Department of Home Affairs. These changes involve the transfers of:

  • identity and biometrics functions into the Attorney-General's Department
  • protective security policy and government and major event security functions to the Department of Home Affairs.

Information Publication Scheme

Information Publication Scheme logo

Subsection 8(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 requires agencies to publish certain information on their websites. This is referred to as the Information Publication Scheme (IPS). Under the IPS, 'publish' can include a statement that the information exists along with details of how to obtain it. The information that we are required to publish under subsection 8(2) is as follows.

IPS agency plan

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 provides as follows:

8(1) An agency must prepare a plan showing the following:

  • what information the agency proposes to publish for the purposes of the Part
  • how, and to whom, the agency proposes to publish information for the purposes of this Part
  • how the agency otherwise proposes to comply with this Part.

Information to be published

We, the Attorney-General's Department, propose to publish, for the purposes of this Part, the following information:

  • our section 8 plan
  • details of our organisational structure
  • as far as practicable, details of our functions, including our decision-making powers and other powers affecting members of the public
  • details of departmental officer appointments that are made under Acts (other than APS employees under the Public Service Act 1999)
  • information in our annual reports that are presented to Parliament
  • details of arrangements for members of the public to comment on specific policy proposals for which we are responsible, including how, and to whom, those comments may be made
  • information in documents to which we routinely gives access in response to requests under Part III of the Act except:
    • personal information about any individual the publishing of which would be unreasonable
    • information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person the publishing of which would be unreasonable
    • other information of a kind determined by the Information Commissioner the publishing of which would be unreasonable
  • information we hold that is routinely provided to the Parliament in response to requests and orders from the Parliament
  • the contact details of an officer who can be contacted about access to information and documents that we hold
  • our 'operational information' – that is, information we hold in order to perform or exercise our functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public or a particular person or entity, or classes of persons or entities. Operational information may include departmental rules, guidelines, practices and precedents relating to those decisions and recommendations.

How, and to whom, the information will be published

We will publish information about how to access the information identified in this plan on this website. In accordance with the requirements of section 8D(3) of the FOI Act, access methods may include:

  • direct downloads from our website (where practicable to do so)
  • links to other websites where the information is available
  • on request – where appropriate, our website may include the name and contact details of relevant departmental officers from whom the information or document can be obtained.

The above information will be published to members of the public generally and, where we consider it appropriate to do so, to particular classes of persons or entities.

Other compliance measures

We propose to otherwise comply with the requirements of Part II of the FOI Act as follows:

  1. Our Freedom of Information and Privacy Section (FOIP) will coordinate updates to the IPS, in consultation with each business group in the department that holds material identified in this plan for inclusion in the IPS, to ensure the information and documents remain accurate and up to date. Snapshots of previous versions of our, including this page, are captured in the Australian Web Archive.
  2. FOIP will work with business groups in the department whose information is identified for inclusion in the IPS, to ensure we comply with other requirements of Part II of the FOI Act.
  3. Officers in FOIP will be available to provide advice to departmental contact officers on the requirements of Part II, including:
    • advice as to what information and documents should and should not be published
    • the circumstances in which charges may be levied and how they should be calculated and published.
  4. In administering our IPS, we will comply with all relevant guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act.
  5. In performing a function or exercising a power under Part II of the FOI Act, we will also have regard to the objects of the Act as set out in sections 3 and 3A.
  6. We will cooperate with the regular reviews the Information Commissioner may carry out of our handling of the IPS.
  7. If some of our operational information about our functions or powers has not been published on our website, and a person engages in conduct relevant to the performance of the function or exercise of the power who, at the time of engaging in that conduct, was not aware of the unpublished information, we will ensure the person will not be subjected to any prejudice by reason only of the application of any rule, guideline or practice in the unpublished information if the person could have avoided that prejudice had he or she been aware of the unpublished information.

Our structure

Information about our structure, including a copy of our organisation chart, is available on the Who we are page.

Our functions

Information about our functions is available as follows:

Appointments

The IPS requires us to publish details of department officer appointments made under Acts (other than APS employees appointed under the Public Service Act 1999). Statutory office holders working in the department include:

  • Criminology Research Act 1971, section 33(4) – Criminology Research Advisory Council
  • Marriage Act 1961, section 39A – Registrar of Marriage Celebrants
  • Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, paragraph 6R(1)(a) – Communications Access Coordinator.

Annual reports

Our annual reports are published on this website. They are also available at the Australian Government’s Transparency Portal.

We also prepare, on behalf of the Attorney-General, annual reports under the TIA Act and Surveillance Devices Act:

Public comments on policy proposals

We generally publicise information about consultations and calls for comments and input from the public on various policy proposals through our social media channels and on the Consultation hub.

Information routinely sought under FOI, and FOI contact information

Apart from the items listed below, we generally do not give routine or regular access to any particular type or class of information. More information about the kinds of FOI requests we process is available on our FOI disclosure log.

Incoming Government Brief 2022

Following each general election since 2013 we have received FOI requests for incoming government briefs (IGBs). The IGB we prepared in advance of the 2022 federal election is available below.

FOI contact details

Director
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Strategy and Governance Branch
Attorney-General's Department
3–5 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600

foi@ag.gov.au
02 6141 6666

Find out more about making Freedom of Information requests.

Information routinely provided to Parliament

We routinely provide the following information to Parliament in response to requests or orders from the Parliament.

Indexed list of departmental and agency files (also known as the Harradine Order)

Lists of titles of files we have created in the previous 6 months are placed on this website twice a year.

Entity contracts (also known as the Murray Motion)

We publish a list of department contracts with value greater than $100 000 on this website twice a year.

Departmental and agency appointments and vacancies

This information is available on request from the Senate Table Office or by searching the title of the Senate Order on Australian Parliament House's 'Tabled Documents' page.

Departmental and agency grants

Information about departmental and agency grants are published on the Australian Government's GrantConnect website.

Estimates hearings – unanswered questions on notice

This information is available on request from the Senate Table Office or by searching the title of the Senate Order on Australian Parliament House's 'Tabled Documents' page.

Former ministers – meetings

This information is available on request from the Senate Table Office or by searching the title of the Senate Order on Australian Parliament House's 'Tabled Documents' page.

Our operational information

Below is a list of our operational information. This is information we hold in order to perform or exercise our functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public or a particular person or entity, or classes of persons or entities.

Operational information may include departmental rules, guidelines, practices and precedents relating to those decisions and recommendations.

To request copies of any of the documents listed below, contact our Freedom of Information and Privacy Section at foi@ag.gov.au.

Enabling Services Group

Justice and Communities Group

Integrity and International Group

National Security and Criminal Justice Group

Related websites

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner