Exempt records

Not all documents may be accessed. Those which are exempt are:

Cabinet documents
Executive Council documents
documents exempt under State or Commonwealth FOI legislation
documents affecting enforcement of law and protection of public safety
documents affecting inter-government or local government relations
documents affecting personal privacy
documents relating to business affairs (for example trade secrets)
certain research documents
internal working documents
documents subject to legal professional privilege
documents concerning the judicial functions of a court or tribunal
documents subject to secrecy provisions
documents containing material obtained in confidence
documents affecting the economy of the State
documents affecting financial or property interests of the State
documents concerning the operations of agencies
documents, disclosure of which would be in contempt of Parliament or contempt of court
certain documents arising out of the companies and securities legislation, and
private documents in public libraries or archival collections.

Certain categories of exemptions require the agency to consult with other third parties before deciding whether to apply the exemption. These are documents:

affecting inter-government or local government relations
affecting personal privacy
relating to business affairs, for example trade secrets, and
certain research documents.