Freedom of Information
Axcess1 Australia
Freedom of Information management, built around FOI Act and Privacy Act
Built around your law — not around generic case management.
Built around your law — not around generic case management
Many case-management products ask a public body to adapt its process to the software. Axcess1 is configured around the legislation, the procedures, the vocabulary and the reporting obligations of each jurisdiction. An organization chooses its Act once; every screen, deadline, letter and report then follows it.
Generic case management
The organization adapts to the software.
Axcess1
The software follows the legislation and the way government works.
Legislation supported
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Act No. 3 of 1982 (Cth)) and Privacy Act 1988 (Act No. 119 of 1988 (Cth), Schedule 1 — Australian Privacy Principles 12 (access) and 13 (correction))
| What the Act requires | As configured in Axcess1 |
|---|---|
| Who it applies to | Agencies of the Commonwealth (Departments of State and prescribed authorities) for their documents, and Ministers for their official documents. Bodies listed in Schedule 2 are exempt wholly or for particular documents (s. 7). State, Territory and local government bodies are NOT covered: they come under their own State or Territory laws. |
| Time limit to respond | 30 days (s. 15(5)(b)). The due date is calculated when the request is entered, with the holidays of the jurisdiction. |
| Extensions | Up to 30 days. 30 more days when consultation under s. 26A, 27 or 27A is required (s. 15(6)) or to consult a foreign government (s. 15(8)); up to 30 further days with the applicant's written agreement, notified to the Information Commissioner (s. 15AA); for a complex or voluminous request, 30 days or another period granted by the Commissioner (s. 15AB). Time stops during a request consultation process (s. 24AB(8)) and while a charge is unpaid (s. 31). (s. 15(6)) |
| No answer in time | Treated as a refusal (s. 15AC(3)); overdue requests are flagged. |
| Third-party notice | Notice under ss. 26A, 27, 27A; 30 days to seek review of the decision |
| Transfer to another body | s. 16 |
| Decision and reasons | The decision letter gives the reasons, the provision relied on and the right of review (s. 26(1)). |
| Fees | No application fee. Charges are discretionary and in Australian dollars (AUD): search and retrieval $15 per hour, decision-making $20 per hour after the first 5 hours, photocopies 10 cents per page (Charges Regulations 2019, Sch. 1). No charge for a document containing the applicant's own personal information or when the decision is late (reg. s. 7). A written notice of the charge is required (s. 29); the applicant has 30 days to reply and the clock stops (s. 31). |
| Review and complaints | Office of the Australian Information Commissioner; 60 days to ask for a review (s. 54S(1)) |
| Annual reporting | FOI statistical returns to the Information Commissioner (FOI Act s. 93; Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 ss. 30-31) |
| Privacy breaches | Notification is mandatory; the incident register applies this jurisdiction's threshold, notices and time limits. |
Loaded for this Act
- 67 provisions (exemptions, exceptions and exclusions) ready to cite on a redaction, each with its section number.
- Request types: FOI request for documents (FOI Act s. 15); FOI request for own personal information (FOI Act s. 15); Amendment or annotation of personal records (FOI Act Part V, s. 48); Access to personal information (Privacy Act, APP 12).
- Statutory steps on the timeline: Acknowledgement of receipt sent to the applicant (s. 15(5)(a), within 14 days); Extension with the applicant's written agreement (s. 15AA, up to 30 days; notify the Information Commissioner); Extension for third-party consultation under s. 26A, 27 or 27A (s. 15(6), 30 days; inform the applicant); Extension to consult a foreign government or international organisation (s. 15(7)-(8), 30 days; inform the applicant); Extension granted by the Information Commissioner for a complex or voluminous request (s. 15AB, 30 days or the period granted); Further time allowed by the Information Commissioner after a deemed refusal (s. 15AC(4)-(5)) — enter the time allowed; Request consultation process before a practical refusal (s. 24AB, 14 days to revise or withdraw) — time not counted (s. 24AB(8)); Notice of charge sent (s. 29; applicant has 30 days to reply) — time not counted until payment or decision (s. 31)….
Checked against the published text on 2026-10-03. Federal Register of Legislation — Freedom of Information Act 1982, compilation No. 122 (29 September 2026, includes Act No. 94, 2026) · Federal Register of Legislation — Privacy Act 1988, compilation No. 104 (4 June 2026), Schedule 1 (APP 12 and 13) · Federal Register of Legislation — Acts Interpretation Act 1901, compilation No. 39 (28 March 2026), s. 36
Legislation-to-feature matrix
| Legislative requirement | Axcess1 support |
|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | 30 days (s. 15(5)(b)): calculated automatically for each request; overdue and upcoming requests on the dashboard. |
| Extensions and holds | Recorded as events that move the due date, each tied to its section of the Act. |
| Exemptions and exclusions | The provisions of FOI Act and Privacy Act in the redaction editor, each with its section number. |
| Third parties and consultations | Notices, consultation packages and their due dates tracked on the request. |
| Fees | Fee notices and payments recorded on the request. |
| Reviews, appeals and complaints | Recorded on the request timeline with their dates and outcome. |
| Redaction | Done by the analyst in the built-in editor; optional AI suggestions that the analyst accepts or rejects. |
| Decision letters | Generated from templates for this Act, with the provisions cited. |
| Release | A release package built from the reviewed records; redactions are permanent in the released file. |
| Annual statistics | Annual access statistics for the period, with each figure traceable to its requests. |
| Audit trail | Every action on a request is recorded with the user and the time. |
From request to release
1Receive and validate
The request is entered with its type, requester and date received; a number is issued from your own numbering pattern.
2Calculate the deadline
The due date follows the Act: 30 days (s. 15(5)(b)). Holds and extensions move it and are recorded.
3Assign and search
The request is assigned to an officer; the units holding records are tasked and their answers tracked.
4Collect and review
Records are uploaded (PDF, Office files, scans with text recognition) and reviewed page by page.
5Apply the provisions and redact
The analyst marks a passage and picks the provision of this Act; the released copy shows the section relied on.
6Consult
Consultation packages are produced per party, with their due dates.
7Approve
The response goes to the approver's inbox for review and signature.
8Release
The release package and the decision letter are generated from the request.
9Report
Requests, processing times, decisions and provisions invoked are counted for the period you choose.
Agentic AI across the lifecycle
AI is switched off until your administrator turns it on, one capability at a time. AI assists. Authorized officials decide.
Intake agent
Proposes a new request from a message, the portal or a drop folder; an officer confirms it.
Document intelligence
Summarizes and classifies the records and finds the people and organizations named in them.
Responsiveness agent
Suggests which records answer the request.
Exemption assist
Proposes provisions of FOI Act with reasons; redaction candidates appear in the editor.
Consultation agent
Suggests who should be consulted and on which pages.
Quality assurance agent
Checks a package a second time before release.
Deadline watch
Lists the requests at risk of running late.
Copilot
Answers questions about a request, citing the records it used.
Migration
Case history, requesters and documents are brought over from the system you use today, so you do not start from an empty database.
Deployment
Hosted by SoftSim in Canada, on your own private cloud or servers, or standalone on a PC or Mac.
Security
Each organization's records are separate, access is controlled by role and every action is recorded. Run on your own servers, your records never leave your premises.
Try it free for 30 days
One licence, the full product, no obligation. Or see it first in a 30-minute demonstration.
Find Axcess1 for your jurisdiction
Canada
United States
United Kingdom
Ireland
Australia
New Zealand
Axcess1 supports configurable workflows designed around the applicable legislation. Government organizations remain responsible for legal interpretation and statutory decisions. Summaries of the legislation are paraphrases prepared from the published text; they are not legal advice.