Mr. Stephen Rafferty:

Our point is that that body is subject to FOI. The Department's position is that, notwithstanding that, there is a non-disclosure provision in the legislation that protects the confidential information and regards unauthorised disclosure as an offence. We interpret the stipulation on disclosure by the body without authorisation or by law as allowing for a right of access under the FOI legislation. If one were to include the non-disclosure provision in the Third Schedule, it would allow for consideration of the public interest. If the non-disclosure provision remains outside the legislation, there will be no option for an independent review or for consideration of public interest arguments.