A legal case over the release of robodebt cabinet documents has reached the Federal Court, with a case to be heard on Friday in Victoria.
The case began in 2017 with Justin Warren requesting the early business case documents on robodebt from the Department of Human Services (now Services Australia).
Services Australia denied most of the related documents under the cabinet documents exemption from freedom of information (FOI) requests.
Warren took the case to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which released one document he sought. He will be appealing the case in the Federal Court on Friday, with Warren alleging the AAT did not correctly interpret FOI law.
Warren said Australians deserve to hold government to public scrutiny in a timely manner.
“If we had access to these robodebt documents when we first requested them, we may have been able to stop this illegal scheme earlier, avoiding the harm that has been suffered by so many,” Warren said.
“The Australian government should follow the lead of New Zealand, which has been proactively releasing cabinet documents [after 30 days] since 2019.
“Public servants should be able to give frank and fearless advice to government without the need for secrecy.”
The AAT ruling, handed down in December last year, found that ten of the documents related to the FOI claim disclosed deliberations of cabinet, as opposed to finalised decisions of the government.
AAT deputy-president Peter Britten-Jones said a lot of policy documents relating to robodebt were already public, including through the 2020 class action.
“I give greater weight to the need to maintain confidentiality over cabinet related documents, particularly in circumstances where there is significant material in the public domain relating to robodebt,” Britten-Jones said.
The AAT finding was made during the hearings of the robobdebt royal commission before its final report was handed down.
In the final report of the robodebt royal commission, Catherine Holmes called for a repeal of the cabinet exemption. Holmes argued the wide range of existing exemptions would be sufficient to protect public interest in the documents.
The government is still considering the robodebt recommendations.
Maurice Blackburn’s principal lawyer Jacinta Lewin, acting for Warren, said the case raised key questions about FOI laws.
“Robust FOI laws are integral to a strong democracy. This case has the potential to clarify the cabinet document exemption – a legal tool repeatedly used by governments to deny access to information,” Lewin said.
The case is part of Grata Fund’s FOI project.
:
It’s time the Liberal party, Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison apologised for robodebt
Any feedback or news tips? Here’s where to contact the relevant team.