ABSTRACT

Freedom of Information (FOI) laws are essential for democratic transparency and accountability of government. FOI, in theory, creates rights to access planning information held by governments, including records about land, resources, infrastructure, policy, and decision-making. FOI often escapes the full understanding of students, researchers, professionals, and advocates who may benefit from employing it. To bridge this gap, we profile FOI in Australia, reflecting on issues of accessibility, responsiveness, and integrity. Practical pitfalls in using FOI are illustrated through three examples. We conclude with proposals for reform, outlining a research agenda for how planning may be made more open and accountable.

抽象的

信息自由（FOI）法律对于民主透明和政府问责制至关重要。从理论上讲，FOI有权访问政府拥有的计划信息，包括有关土地，资源，基础设施，政策和决策的记录。FOI通常会使可能从中受益的学生，研究人员，专业人士和倡导者失去充分的了解。为了弥合这一差距，我们对澳大利亚的FOI进行了介绍，以探讨可访问性，响应能力和完整性问题。通过三个示例说明了使用FOI的实际陷阱。最后，我们提出了改革建议，概述了如何使计划变得更加开放和负责的研究议程。