NSW: Ministerial staff involved in FOI requests: Auditor-General

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NSW: Ministerial staff involved in FOI requests: Auditor-General

SYDNEY, Aug 28 AAP - Ministerial staff and departmental chiefs were often interferingin freedom of information (FOI) requests, a NSW auditor-general's report found today.

The report examined FOI arrangements in three NSW government agencies and found FOIcoordinators and their staff were generally supportive of the law backing access.

But it also raised concerns about chief executives and ministerial staff being involvedwith FOI requests prior to some determinations being made.

"(This) opens the possibility for perceptions of interference and may affect an agency'scapacity to conduct an unbiased internal review," the report said.

The report recommended CEOs be informed of the outcome of decisions in parallel with,rather than prior to, issuing the determination to applicants.

The director-general of the Ministry of Transport, John Lee, said he disagreed withthe report's finding, calling it an overstatement.

"We submit that advising the CEO that information will be entering the public domaindoes not involve them in that decision making process," Mr Lee said in a response includedin the report.

The Premier's Department, another of the agencies reviewed, said the Auditor-General'sreport was written in a way that could be misinterpreted mischievously or otherwise.

"The Premier's Department expresses deep disappointment with the nature and tone ofthe audit report," director-general Col Gellatly wrote in his reply.

Department of Education and Training director-general Jan McClelland also expressedconcern about the report and said the department complied fully with the act.

AAP jph/nf/ldj/jlw

KEYWORD: FOI