Victoria's Freedom of Information Act is no longer fit for purpose and needs to be overhauled.
That's according to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner, which is calling for a major shake-up to how people can access information held by the government including their medical records.
The office deals with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and is pushing to strengthen its independence from government as a parliamentary inquiry examines how the law is functioning.
Victoria's new Information Commissioner Sean Morrison told the inquiry that the current law was "no longer fit for purpose and requires a complete overhaul".
He said it's hard for the public to understand and for agencies or ministers to administer.
"Tinkering around the edges of the FOI act is not going to fix these issues," Mr Morrison told the inquiry on Monday.
"Victoria needs to replace the FOI act with a modern, third generation access to information law."
Mr Morrison's evidence to the inquiry builds on a 169-page submission from his office, which revealed it wants funding set by parliament and is seeking greater powers to become a more effective and trusted regulator.
"To fulfil our statutory functions, (the office) must also be, and must be seen to be, independent," Acting Information Commissioner Joanne Kummrow said in the submission.
Ms Kummrow has been appointed Queensland's Information Commissioner since preparing the submission.
In addition to the overhaul of the FOI Act, the submission called for a review of any secrecy and confidentiality provisions in Victorian legislation.
In 2022/23 it cost government agencies more than $21.3 million to administer the FOI Act but collected just over $2 million in fees and access charges, the submission stated.
The office wants a flat fee, for example $30, for requests to information under a new system but for that to be waived when a person seeks their own personal or health information.
Mr Morrison said the next generation of laws needed to account for the use of Artificial Intelligence.
"The public should know when it's being used, how it's being used and should be able to access information it's producing, particularly by third parties (delivering services)," he said.
Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt earlier told the inquiry that FOI wait times had blown out due "the sheer number" of requests to police, which he estimated to be in the thousands.
He said members of his association who sought their records for disciplinary hearings or other reasons face wait times "north of 30 to 35 weeks".
"We would say that operates against principles of natural justice and procedural fairness," Mr Gatt said.
