Government Response to Recommendations
The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme made 56 recommendations and one closing observation.
In relation to the Commissioner's closing observation, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) promotes accountability in government decision-making by providing the community with access to government documents, subject to some exemptions. The confidentiality of Cabinet documents is one of those exemptions.
The Australian Government believes that it is critical that the Cabinet, the key decision-making body of Government, is comprehensively informed in its deliberations. To achieve this, the Cabinet must have the benefit of frank and fearless advice from Ministers and senior public servants. The decisions taken by the Cabinet are collective. As set out in the Cabinet Handbook:
The principle of collective responsibility requires that ministers should be able to express their views frankly in Cabinet meetings in the expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front in public when decisions have been reached. This in turn requires that opinions expressed in the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, including in documents and any correspondence, are treated as confidential.[1]
For these reasons, the Government does not consider that section 34 of the FOI Act should be repealed.
In relation to the Commissioner's recommendations, the Australian Government accepts or accepts in principle all 56 recommendations. Where a recommendation has been accepted in principle, the Government is committed to achieve the objective of the recommendation but has either identified an alternative means of doing so, or considers that further consideration is needed.
- ↑ Cabinet Handbook - 15th edition | PM&C (pmc.gov.au), para 21.
