{
  "id": "au-foi-1982",
  "name": "Freedom of Information Act 1982",
  "short_name": "FOI Act 1982",
  "citation": "Act No. 3 of 1982 (Cth)",
  "jurisdiction": "foreign",
  "state": null,
  "state_name": null,
  "country": "Australia",
  "country_code": "AU",
  "url": "https://aletheca.com/laws/au-foi-1982",
  "description": "The Commonwealth access law. Records more than 20 years old fall instead under the Archives Act 1983 open-access period — a free application to the National Archives of Australia.",
  "statutory_days": 30,
  "business_days": false,
  "statutory_text": "30 calendar days from receipt, extendable by 30 with the applicant's agreement or for third-party consultation.",
  "appeal_deadline_days": 60,
  "appeal_basis": "days from the decision to seek Information Commissioner review",
  "appeal_process": "Internal review within 30 days or Information Commissioner (OAIC) review within 60, then the Administrative Review Tribunal.",
  "litigation": "Administrative Review Tribunal after IC review.",
  "fee_waiver_standard": "No application fee; processing charges may be imposed and are routinely reduced or waived on public-interest grounds.",
  "expedited_criteria": [],
  "exemptions": [
    "s.33 National security and defence",
    "s.34 Cabinet documents",
    "s.37 Law enforcement",
    "s.42 Legal privilege",
    "s.47F Personal privacy"
  ],
  "portal": null,
  "turnaround_notes": "Defence ceased investigating 'unidentified aerial sightings' in 1996; the older files sit at the National Archives of Australia and are cheaper to get there.",
  "quirks": "The 20-year open-access rule means the classic RAAF files are an NAA access application, not an FOI request — free, and outside the FOI clock entirely.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Federal Register of Legislation — FOI Act 1982",
      "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A02562/latest/text",
      "status": "verified",
      "checked_at": "2026-08-31"
    }
  ],
  "text": null,
  "text_note": null,
  "agencies": [
    {
      "slug": "au-defence",
      "name": "Department of Defence (Australia)",
      "local_name": null,
      "abbr": null,
      "jurisdiction": "foreign",
      "state": null,
      "state_name": null,
      "country": "Australia",
      "country_code": "AU",
      "category": "defense",
      "agency_type": "ministry",
      "parent": null,
      "parent_name": null,
      "url": "https://aletheca.com/agencies/au-defence",
      "website": "https://www.defence.gov.au",
      "reading_room": null,
      "subject_to_foia": true,
      "law": {
        "id": "au-foi-1982",
        "citation": "Act No. 3 of 1982 (Cth)",
        "statutory_days": 30,
        "business_days": false,
        "appeal_deadline_days": 60
      },
      "intake": [
        {
          "channel": "portal",
          "detail": "https://www.defence.gov.au/about/governance/freedom-information",
          "label": "Defence FOI",
          "verified": false,
          "verification": "unverified",
          "verification_source": null,
          "last_checked": null,
          "automatable": false,
          "preferred": false,
          "reliability": null,
          "instructions": null
        },
        {
          "channel": "email",
          "detail": "foi@defence.gov.au",
          "label": "FOI Directorate",
          "verified": false,
          "verification": "unverified",
          "verification_source": null,
          "last_checked": null,
          "automatable": false,
          "preferred": false,
          "reliability": null,
          "instructions": null
        },
        {
          "channel": "mail",
          "detail": "FOI Directorate, Department of Defence, PO Box 7910, Canberra BC ACT 2610",
          "label": "Postal mail",
          "verified": false,
          "verification": "unverified",
          "verification_source": null,
          "last_checked": null,
          "automatable": false,
          "preferred": false,
          "reliability": null,
          "instructions": null
        }
      ],
      "submission_readiness": null,
      "holdings": [
        "'Unidentified aerial sightings' policy files to 1996, when Defence ceased investigating",
        "RAAF sighting summaries and base intelligence reports (older series at the National Archives of Australia)",
        "Post-1996 correspondence declining investigation"
      ],
      "tips": [
        "Files older than 20 years fall under the Archives Act open-access period — a free access application to the National Archives of Australia (series A703, A9755 and related), not an FOI request.",
        "Defence publishes an FOI disclosure log; check it before paying processing charges."
      ],
      "tracking": "FOI reference issued by the FOI Directorate.",
      "confidence": "high",
      "source": "Hand-compiled international layer. Bodies and statutes are real; contact routes are inferred unless marked verified, and none has yet been proven by a delivered letter."
    }
  ]
}