{"id":"F2017L01676","name":"Freedom of Information (Prescribed Authorities, Principal Offices and Annual Report) Regulations 2017","slug":"freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439434,"registerId":"F2017L01676-fast-fetch-1775955463424","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Freedom of Information (Prescribed Authorities, Principal Offices and Annual Report) Regulations 2017","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nFreedom of Information (Prescribed Authorities, Principal Offices and Annual Report) Regulations 2017\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 14 December 2017\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nGeorge Brandis QC\n\nAttorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Prescribed authorities\n\n7 Principal offices\n\n8 Information Commissioner’s annual report—giving information\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nFreedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1982\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Freedom of Information (Prescribed Authorities, Principal Offices and Annual Report) Regulations 2017.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 21 December 2017\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Freedom of Information Act 1982.\n\n6  Prescribed authorities\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of prescribed authority in subsection 4(1) of the Act, Aboriginal Hostels Limited is declared to be a prescribed authority for the purposes of the Act.\n\n7  Principal offices\n\n  For the purposes of subparagraph (b)(i) of the definition of principal officer in subsection 4(1) of the Act, an office mentioned in column 2 of an item in the following table is declared to be the principal office of the prescribed authority mentioned in column 1 of the item.\n\n \n\n- Principal offices\n- Item Column 1 Prescribed authority Column 2 Office\n- 1 Australian Competition Tribunal Registrar of the Tribunal\n- 2 Designs Office Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister administering the Designs Act 2003\n- 3 Patent Office Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister administering the Patents Act 1990\n- 4 Safe Work Australia Chief Executive Officer of Safe Work Australia\n- 5 Tax Practitioners Board Chair of the Board\n- 6 Tourism Australia Managing Director of Tourism Australia\n- 7 Trade Marks Office Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister administering the Trade Marks Act 1995\n\n\n8  Information Commissioner’s annual report—giving information\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 93(3)(a) of the Act, the information must be given:\n\n (a) if guidelines under section 93A of the Act refer to information being given on a quarterly basis—before the end of 21 days after each quarter ending on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December; and\n\n (b) if guidelines under section 93A of the Act refer to information being given on an annual basis—before the end of 31 July after each financial year.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nFreedom of Information (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1982\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument expands FOI coverage by declaring Aboriginal Hostels Limited a prescribed authority (reg 6), clarifies which offices are 'principal offices' for seven named authorities (reg 7), prescribes timing for the Information Commissioner’s reporting information (reg 8), and repeals the earlier 1982 regulations (Schedule 1), thereby changing which bodies and officers fall within the Act and the administrative reporting regime."},"complexity_factors":["Limited number of discrete, technical changes rather than broad policy reform—single declarations and a repeal (regs 6, 7, Schedule 1).","Direct cross‑references to definitions and powers in the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (references to subsection 4(1), paragraph 93(3)(a), section 93A) require readers to consult the Act to see full legal effect (regs 6, 7, 8).","Prescribing principal offices for specific authorities alters who counts as a decision‑maker under the Act (reg 7) — a legal effect that is precise but context‑dependent.","Imposed reporting timeframes specify compliance deadlines (quarterly: 21 days after quarter end; annual: before 31 July) and therefore create operational duties for agencies and the Commissioner (reg 8).","Commencement and repeal mechanics (commencement by registration, and repeal of the 1982 instrument) are administrative but legally significant for transition (reg 2, Schedule 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation adds Aboriginal Hostels Limited to the list of entities covered by the Freedom of Information Act, declares the ‘principal office’ for seven named bodies, sets deadlines for the Information Commissioner to receive quarterly or annual reporting information, and repeals the prior 1982 miscellaneous FOI regulations. It affects the named agencies, the Information Commissioner and anyone using FOI processes by clarifying which organisations and officers fall under the Act and by fixing when the Commissioner must be given prescribed information."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: updating administrative details under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. It adds one agency, clarifies responsible officers at seven others, sets reporting timeframes, and repeals obsolete regulations. There is no scope creep beyond routine FOI administrative maintenance."},"complexity_factors":["Only 8 operative sections, with most being mechanical (naming, commencement, authority)","Single defined term ('Act')","One straightforward declaration (section 6)","Simple tabular format for principal offices (section 7) with 7 entries","Basic conditional logic in section 8 (if/then for quarterly vs annual reporting)","No nested exceptions or cross-references beyond basic Act citations","Schedule 1 contains only a single repeal item"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation updates Australia’s FOI framework by bringing Aboriginal Hostels Limited within the FOI regime, naming the principal officer responsible for FOI at seven specified government bodies, imposing quarterly or annual reporting deadlines for the Information Commissioner’s statistics, and repealing the outdated 1982 miscellaneous FOI regulations.\n\nIt affects Aboriginal Hostels Limited, those seven agencies (by clarifying FOI responsibility), and the public by widening access and improving reporting and accountability."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017","history":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/freedom-of-information-prescribed-authorities-principal-offices-and-annual-report-regulations-2017/documents"}}