Gatekeepers or facilitators? Capturing and assessing Australia's freedom of information implementation culture

Independent access to information is a crucial component if journalism is to fulfil one of its key roles in society: holding individuals and institutions to account for how they use their power. In 2025 governments in 135 countries have passed and implemented access to information laws that are most commonly known as Freedom of Information (FOI) or Right to Information (RTI) laws. When FOI functions well, it is a powerful tool allowing journalists and any member of the public to access unspun government created and held information which can be used to hold governments to account. This article reports on a comprehensive three-year study of FOI law implementation culture in three Australian jurisdictions. Grounded in accountability theory, our research employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating online surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. Our study yielded several significant findings. The principal one being the critical importance of proactive information disclosure policies.