{"id":"information-commissioner-regulations-2025","name":"Information Commissioner Regulations 2025","slug":"information-commissioner-regulations-2025","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178354,"registerId":"wa-information-commissioner-regulations-2025-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Information Commissioner Regulations 2025","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nInformation Commissioner Act 2024\n\nInformation Commissioner Regulations 2025\n\nWestern Australia\n\nInformation Commissioner Regulations 2025\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Assets, rights and liabilities 2\n\n5. Contracts, agreements, arrangements and other instruments 3\n\n6. Appeals against decisions under *Freedom of Information Act 1992* 3\n\n7. Operation of transitional provisions 4\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nInformation Commissioner Act 2024\n\nInformation Commissioner Regulations 2025\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations are the *Information Commissioner Regulations 2025*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published on the WA legislation website;\n\n(b) the rest of the regulations — on 1 July 2025.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) In these regulations —\n\nasset —\n\n(a) means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future, whether vested or contingent and whether personal or assignable) in real or personal property of any description; and\n\n(b) includes any money, security, chose in action or document;\n\nliability means any liability, duty or obligation whether actual, contingent or prospective, liquidated or unliquidated, or whether owed alone or jointly or jointly and severally with any other person;\n\noffice of the FOI Act Information Commissioner means the office in existence before transition day known as the Office of the Information Commissioner;\n\noffice of the new Information Commissioner means the department of the Public Service of which the new Information Commissioner is the chief executive officer under the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*;\n\nright means any right, power, privilege or immunity whether actual, prospective or contingent.\n\n(2) If a term used in these regulations is given a meaning in section 36 of the Act, it has the same meaning in these regulations.\n\n##### 4. Assets, rights and liabilities\n\n(1) At the beginning of transition day —\n\n(a) the assets and rights of the FOI Act Information Commissioner immediately before transition day are assigned to and become assets and rights of the office of the new Information Commissioner for and on behalf of the State; and\n\n(b) the liabilities of the FOI Act Information Commissioner immediately before transition day are assigned to and become liabilities of the office of the new Information Commissioner for and on behalf of the State.\n\n(2) Subject to sections 41 and 42 of the Act, on and from transition day —\n\n(a) any proceedings that immediately before transition day might have been brought or continued by the FOI Act Information Commissioner may be brought or continued by the new Information Commissioner, or the office of the new Information Commissioner for and on behalf of the State, as is appropriate in the circumstances; and\n\n(b) any remedy that immediately before transition day might have been available against or to the FOI Act Information Commissioner is available against or to the new Information Commissioner, or the office of the new Information Commissioner for and on behalf of the State, as is appropriate in the circumstances.\n\n##### 5. Contracts, agreements, arrangements and other instruments\n\n(1) This regulation applies to a contract, arrangement or understanding (a relevant agreement) in effect immediately before transition day —\n\n(a) to which the FOI Act Information Commissioner or the office of the FOI Act Information Commissioner is a party; or\n\n(b) that contains a reference to the FOI Act Information Commissioner or the office of the FOI Act Information Commissioner.\n\n(2) If the FOI Act Information Commissioner or office of the FOI Act Information Commissioner is a party to the relevant agreement, the relevant agreement has effect on and from transition day as if the office of the new Information Commissioner, acting for and on behalf of the State, were substituted for that party.\n\n(3) The relevant agreement has effect on and from transition day as if —\n\n(a) any reference in the agreement to the FOI Act Information Commissioner were, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the new Information Commissioner; and\n\n(b) any reference in the agreement to the office of the FOI Act Information Commissioner were, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the office of the new Information Commissioner.\n\n##### 6. Appeals against decisions under *Freedom of Information Act 1992*\n\n(1) This regulation applies if, immediately before transition day, an appeal has been brought in relation to a decision of the FOI Act Information Commissioner under the *Freedom of Information Act 1992* section 85(1), (2)(a) or (4) and has not yet been determined.\n\n(2) On and from transition day, if the Supreme Court remits the matter under the *Freedom of Information Act 1992* section 87(1)(c)(ii), the Court may remit the matter to the new Information Commissioner or the Information Access Deputy Commissioner, as the Court thinks fit.\n\n##### 7. Operation of transitional provisions\n\nThe operation of Part 6 of the Act and regulations 4 to 6 must not be regarded as —\n\n(a) a breach of contract or confidence or otherwise as a civil wrong; or\n\n(b) a breach of any contractual provision prohibiting, restricting or regulating the assignment or transfer of assets, rights or liabilities or the disclosure of information; or\n\n(c) giving rise to any right to damages or compensation; or\n\n(d) giving rise to any remedy by a party to an instrument, or as causing or permitting the termination of any instrument, because of a change in the beneficial or legal ownership of any asset, right or liability; or\n\n(e) causing any contract or instrument to be void or otherwise unenforceable; or\n\n(f) releasing or allowing the release of any surety.\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Information Commissioner Regulations 2025*. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Published** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Information Commissioner Regulations 2025* | SL 2025/120 25 Jun 2025 | r. 1 and 2: 25 Jun 2025 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2025 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nasset 3(1)\n\nliability 3(1)\n\noffice of the FOI Act Information Commissioner 3(1)\n\noffice of the new Information Commissioner 3(1)\n\nrelevant agreement 5(1)\n\nright 3(1)\n\n© State of Western Australia 2025.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2025.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: facilitating the administrative transition from the old FOI Commissioner to the new Information Commissioner. They do not expand beyond asset transfer, contract continuity, and appeals handling."},"complexity_factors":["Short length (7 regulations total)","Limited defined terms (6 defined terms, all in a single subsection)","Straightforward conditional logic limited to transitional timing ('immediately before transition day', 'on and from transition day')","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing beyond basic references to the parent Act and the FOI Act","Standard boilerplate succession provisions common in Australian administrative law"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations are technical rules that help set up Western Australia's new Information Commissioner role. They deal with the practical handover from the old Freedom of Information (FOI) Commissioner to the new, broader Information Commissioner position created by the Information Commissioner Act 2024.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Transfers the family silver**: All assets, money, property, and legal rights belonging to the old FOI Commissioner move to the new Information Commissioner's office on 'transition day' (1 July 2025). All debts and legal obligations move too.\n- **Keeps contracts alive**: Any contracts or agreements the old office had stay in force, but the new office steps into the old office's shoes. References to the old Commissioner in documents automatically mean the new one.\n- **Sorts out court cases**: If someone is appealing an FOI decision in court when the changeover happens, the court can send the matter back to either the new Information Commissioner or the Information Access Deputy Commissioner.\n- **Protects the handover**: The regulations explicitly state that this transfer isn't a breach of contract, doesn't void any agreements, and doesn't give anyone the right to sue for damages just because the ownership changed.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The staff and office of the old FOI Commissioner (now becoming the new Information Commissioner's office)\n- Anyone with a contract with the old office\n- People currently appealing FOI decisions in the Supreme Court\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout these rules, the changeover could create legal chaos—contracts might become void, court cases might stall, and property ownership might be unclear. These regulations ensure a smooth administrative transition so the new Commissioner can start work immediately without legal hiccups."},"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"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is impossible — the legislative text was not retrievable. No comparison between original intent and final form can be made."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was available for analysis — the source page returned a 'no longer available' error","Cannot assess substantive complexity without access to the actual regulatory text","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"## Information Commissioner Regulations 2025 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of this Western Australian legislation could not be retrieved. The source page has been taken offline due to system and security upgrades on the Western Australian legislation website.\n\n**What we know:**\n- This appears to be a set of **regulations** (detailed rules made under a broader Act of Parliament) relating to the **Information Commissioner** in Western Australia\n- The Information Commissioner is the independent officer responsible for overseeing **freedom of information (FOI)** rights — your right to access government-held documents\n- These regulations likely set out procedural rules, fees, timeframes, or administrative details supporting the main legislation\n\n**What you should do:**\n- Visit the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) directly and search for \"Information Commissioner Regulations 2025\"\n- Contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk if you cannot locate the document"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the regulations themselves, the instrument only implements transitional arrangements needed to move functions, assets, contracts and unresolved proceedings to the new Information Commissioner’s office. It does not create new powers for the office or expand obligations beyond effecting that transfer and protecting the transition from certain civil claims."},"complexity_factors":["Straightforward legal assignment of assets, rights and liabilities to a successor office (regulation 4).","Substitution of the new office into existing contracts and references, subject to contextual interpretation (regulation 5(2)–(3)).","Continuation and remittal of unfinished FOI appeals to the new office, with a judicial discretion on remittal to deputy or Commissioner (regulation 6).","Protective non‑liability clauses limiting contractual and civil claims arising from the transfer (regulation 7).","Reliance on cross‑references to the Act (eg. sections 36, 41, 42 and Part 6) creates modest reading and interpretive steps.","Key terms are defined in the regulations, reducing ambiguity but requiring attention to definitions for scope (regulation 3)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations transfer the assets, rights and liabilities of the existing FOI Information Commissioner to the new Information Commissioner’s department, substitute the new office into existing contracts and allow unfinished FOI appeals to continue under the new office. They commence on 1 July 2025 (with citation and commencement provisions in regs 1–2). Mechanically, the State (the office of the new Information Commissioner) assumes legal duties and standing, and the transitional transfers are protected from breach‑of‑contract claims and related remedies."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025","history":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/information-commissioner-regulations-2025/documents"}}