Your rights to access Council information are provided in the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act). The Act commenced on 1 July 2010 and replaced the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (NSW) and section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
Release of information by Council under the GIPA Act will be determined by the public interest test, as provided by section 13 of the Act. You can find out more about right to information, the public interest test and the ways to access government information under the GIPA Act on the Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) website at www.ipc.nsw.gov.au The IPC is an independent statutory authority responsible for overseeing the provisions of the GIPA Act. Please note the IPC does not and is unable to provide legal advice to stakeholders.
Agency Information Guide (PDF 24.4MB)
Armidale Regional Council Disclosure Log (PDF 31.6KB)
Search this website to see if the information you are after is already published on this website
If the information is not on this website?
There are four ways in which government information is available under the GIPA Act:
1. Mandatory release: Certain information, referred to as open access information, must be published on the agency's website, free of charge.
2. Proactive release: Beyond mandatory release, agencies are encouraged (and authorised) to release as much government information as possible.
3. Informal request: Agencies are encouraged to informally release information, by excusing the need for a formal application (and fee) to be submitted
4. Formal application:
This is the last resort if information is not accessible in any of the above three ways. Decisions made in response to formal applications can be reviewed.
Formal request application form