Freedom of Information

Lots of material can be accessed from this website or by request, without the need for an FOI application.

You can ask our FOI Officer to email you these materials, or to send you hard copies.

These materials include, but are not be limited to:

• policies
• procedures
• training materials
• financial statements
• brochures and promotional material
• reports that have been tabled in the Victorian Parliament.

Documents about the following matters cannot be provided as they are not subject to the FOI Act.

This is mainly due to the confidentiality provisions of Section 29A of the Ombudsman Act.

• A complaint, a referred complaint, a referred matter, or a matter referred to the Ombudsman by Parliament.
• An enquiry or an investigation under the Ombudsman Act.
• A recommendation made by the Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act.
• A draft report made under the Ombudsman Act or a final report that has not been tabled in the Victorian Parliament.

Before you lodge a request, we encourage you to contact our FOI Officer for a discussion.

You can lodge an FOI request through the Department of Justice and Community Safety’s online application form. When you are asked to nominate the agency that you are seeking information from, scroll down and select 'Victorian Ombudsman'.

FOI requests cost $31.80. This is the application fee (as of 1 July 2023). This fee is subject to an increase on 1 July every year. The fee may be waived in some cases.

Yes, you can request to update or correct personal information within a document held by our office.

You will need to:

• make your request in writing (post or email) to our FOI Officer
• outline the issue. This could be personal information that is:
  • incorrect
  • incomplete
  • misleading
  • out of date.
• include the correct details to update the information.

Only next of kin can make a request on behalf of another person. Personal identification is required to make the amendment.

You can request a review of FOI decisions made by the Ombudsman.

Reviews can be made to either the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner or the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal , depending on the exemption.