Northern Territory Consolidated Acts

INFORMATION ACT - SECT 52

(1) Information may be exempt under section 50 if disclosure of the information would disclose:

(a) an opinion, advice or recommendation brought into existence by or on behalf of a public sector organisation in the course of, or for the purposes of, the deliberative processes that are part of the functions of the organisation; or

(b) a record of consultations or deliberations of a public sector organisation in the course of, or for the purposes of, such deliberative processes.

(2) Information referred to in subsection (1) is not exempt under section 50 if the information is purely statistical, technical, scientific or factual.

(3) Information referred to in subsection (1) is not exempt under section 50 if the information is:

(a) a final decision, order or ruling given or made in the exercise of an adjudicative function; or

(b) the reasons for such a decision, order or ruling.

(4) Information referred to in subsection (1) is not exempt under section 50 if a period of 10 years has elapsed since the information was brought into existence.

(5) To show that, in a particular case, it is not in the public interest to disclose government information referred to in subsection (1), a public sector organisation may have regard to the following factors:

(a) the more senior the person who created, annotated or considered the information and the more sensitive the information, the more likely it will be that the information should not be disclosed (but the seniority of the person is not by itself a sufficient reason not to disclose the information);

(b) the disclosure of information that was brought into existence in the course of the development and subsequent promulgation of policy tends not to be in the public interest;

(c) the disclosure of information that will inhibit frankness and candour in future pre-decisional considerations is likely not to be in the public interest;

(d) the disclosure of information that has the potential to inhibit the independence of the decision-maker because of the possibility that the disclosure could result in the decision-maker being unduly pressured or harassed is likely not to be in the public interest;

(e) the disclosure of information where there is a risk that the disclosure will result in a mischievous interpretation of the information is likely not to be in the public interest;

(f) the disclosure of information that will lead to confusion and unnecessary debate resulting from disclosure of possibilities considered tends not to be in the public interest (but a tentative or optional quality of the information is not by itself a sufficient reason not to disclose the information);

(g) the disclosure of information that does not fairly disclose the reasons for a decision subsequently taken may be unfair to a decision-maker and may prejudice the integrity of the decision-making process.