From the Executive Director

It has been an interesting beginning to 2026 in the FOI world in Victoria.

For many of our clients, the ongoing challenge of diminishing resources (which were already finite) is proving difficult and resulting in some very lengthy delays or backlogs of FOI requests for processing.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are developments at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).  As many of you will recall, from about February 2023 until mid-2025 any FOI proceedings at the VCAT were put on ice "due to the lack of available members to hear the matter" (or similar words).

From about August 2025 and continuing on in earnest in the early part of 2026, VCAT is making a concerted effort to reduce the bubble of backlogged cases, as well as ensuring that new proceedings are progressed in as timely a way as it practicably can.

At first instance, cases in the delay bubble are mostly being referred to mediation before experienced VCAT members to see if they can be resolved.  If that is not successful, then matters are progressed in the usual way.  We had many mediations late in 2025, some of which were successful in resolving proceedings; others were not.  As a result we presently have many scheduled directions hearings setting timetables leading to expected hearings in anywhere from July 2026 to January 2027.

In relation to new proceedings that were not delayed, the Tribunal is tending to refer these to compulsory conferences before experienced VCAT members with FOI experience. These are being listed only a little later than the backlog bubble cases.  Where these are not successful in resolving a case, matters are being listed in the period September 2026 to January 2027.

We understand that VCAT has also allocated a few additional members to the Review and Regulation List, where FOI matters are dealt with at the Tribunal to enable cases to be dealt with and finalised.

In short, a good start at the Tribunal and a rather busy 2026 for us!

This also means that in upcoming months we expect to see an increasing number of finalised and decided VCAT decisions - leading to more cases in our Monthly VCAT Summary publication which is available for subscription.  In that subscription service, we publish summaries of every VCAT FOI and Privacy decision resulting in a published written statement of reasons.

If you are interested in subscribing to this monthly service, or would like to obtain some of the back catalog of annual compilations (which are also available for purchase), please please feel free to contact us.

Good luck out there for what may prove to be a challenging year for clients.  Remember, we are here to help.

Mick Batskos

Executive Director