After section 35(1) of the Principal Act insert— "(1A) An agency or Minister, in deciding whether a document is an exempt document subsection (1), must— the following that the agency or Minister has received a request for access to the document— (i) the person or government that communicated the information or matter; (ii) the person or government on whose behalf the information or matter was communicated; and the view of that person or government as to whether— (i) the information or matter was communicated in confidence; and (ii) the disclosure of the information or matter be contrary to the public interest for the reason set out in subsection (1)(b); and notifying a person, that if the person consents to disclosure of the document, or disclosure subject to deletion of the information or matter communicated in confidence, the person is not entitled to apply to the Tribunal for review of a decision to grant access to that document. (1B) Despite subsection (1A), an agency or Minister is not required to notify a person if—
(2) In section 61L(1) and (3) of the Principal Act, "agency" (wherever occurring) insert ", the principal officer". (3) In section 61L(5), (6) and (7) of the Principal Act, after "agency," (wherever occurring) insert "principal officer,". (4) Section 61L(9) of the Principal Act and the note at the foot of that section are repealed. 64 Section 61M substituted For section 61M of the Principal Act substitute— "61M Complaints notified or referred by other bodies The Information Commissioner may treat a complaint— by the Ombudsman section 16G of the Ombudsman Act 1973; or by the Health Complaints Commissioner under section 51 of the Health Records Act 2001— as if it were a complaint made section 61A.". 65 Section 61N repealed Section 61N of the Principal Act is repealed. 66 New Parts VIB and VIC inserted Part VIA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 insert— Division 1—Investigations
the Information Commissioner proposes to transmit a report to the Parliament on a day on which neither House of the Parliament is sitting, the Information Commissioner must— one business day's notice of the intention to do so to the clerk of each House of the Parliament; and the report to the clerk of each House of the Parliament on the day indicated in the notice; and the report on the Internet site of the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner as soon as practicable after giving it to the clerks. clerk of each House of the Parliament must— each member of the of the Parliament of the receipt of a notice under subsection (3)(a) on the same day that the clerk receives that notice; and a copy of a report to each member of the House of the Parliament as soon as practicable after the report is received under subsection (3)(b); and the report to be laid before the House of the Parliament on the next sitting day of the House of the Parliament.
(1) A legal practitioner representing the person who is served with a notice to produce or attend has the same protection and immunity as a legal practitioner has in representing a party in a proceeding in the Supreme Court. (2) A person who is served with a notice to produce or attend has the same protection and immunity as a witness has in a proceeding in the Supreme Court. 83H Failure to comply with notice to produce or attend A person who is served with a notice to produce or attend, must not, without reasonable excuse, refuse or fail to comply with a requirement set out in the notice— attend before the Information Commissioner; or give information; or answer a question or produce a document. Penalty: 60 penalty units. 83I Reasonable excuse—self-incrimination Without limiting what is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of section 83H, it is a reasonable excuse to refuse or fail to comply with a requirement of the notice if the giving of the information or production of the document may tend to incriminate the person. 83J Reasonable excuse—cabinet documents and legal professional privilege