Freedom of Information: Taking Account of the Circumstances of Individual Applicants

An important feature of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is that it provides universal rights of access. Individuals are able to request access to documents as of right and cannot be required to justify or provide reasons for seeking access to documents and they are not subject to any restrictions on what they can do with any documents provided to them. It follows therefore that it is generally inappropriate to consider an applicant’s identity or motives in making access decisions. However, there are a number of circumstances where an applicant’s identity or motives should logically make a difference as to whether they should be granted access. This article is concerned with the extent to which the circumstances of individual applicants can and should be taken into account in the operation of the UK FOI legislation, and draws on Australian case law to suggest a possible alternative to the current approach taken in the United Kingdom.