In Washington and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority [2011] AICmr 11 the Freedom of Information Commissioner refused access to certain APRA documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 .

A journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, applied to APRA for access to industry risk ‘registers’ for each of the APRA-regulated industries.The description of these documents appears in the following description on page 44 of APRA’s 2010 annual report: ‘These registers identify the main emerging risks and supervisory issues for each industry, the implications for regulated institutions and the key areas or triggers where specific supervisory action may be required.’

APRA identified 12 risk registers relevant to Mr Washington’s request. These registers relate to four financial sectors: superannuation, life insurance and friendly societies, general insurance, and authorised deposit-taking institutions over a 3 year period.

APRA refused Mr Washington access to these risk registers on the basis that they were exempt documents under the FOI Act because of section 47C (deliberative processes) and section 47J (the economy).

The Commissioner accepted APRA’s principal argument that the disclosure of the 12 risk registers could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on those sectors by influencing the decisions and actions of individual entities within the banking, insurance and other financial institution sectors, that are regulated by APRA and may take action to evade possible regulatory action by APRA should the risk registers be disclosed.

He accepted that it would be contrary to the public interest for the information in the risk registers to be disclosed to the market at this time.