Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) gives any person the right to:

• access copies of documents held by us (except exempt documents);
• ask for information we hold about you to be changed or annotated if it is incomplete, out of date, incorrect or misleading; and
• seek a review of our decision not to allow you access to a document or not to amend your personal record.

You can ask to see any document that we hold. We can refuse access to some documents, or parts of documents that are exempt or otherwise not disclosable under the FOI Act. Exempt documents may include those documents containing material obtained in confidence and or other matters set out in the FOI Act.

Prior to requesting access, check the information we have published under our Information Publication Scheme and through the ARENA FOI Disclosure Log to see if what you are seeking is already publicly available.

ARENA has arrangements in place with the Department of the Environment and Energy to assist in processing FOI requests.

If you would like to request access to documents that are in the possession of ARENA, please follow the procedure and details outlined on the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

ARENA is subject to the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requirements under the FOI Act. The following material is provided to satisfy these requirements.

Information Publication Scheme Plan

The Information Publication Scheme Plan (PDF 260KB) shows what information we will publish, how and to whom information will be published and how we intend to meet the IPS requirements. The links below provide access to the information published under the IPS.

ARENA is a body corporate established by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011 (Cth) to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia. The statutory arrangements that apply to us including the General Funding Strategy and the Statement of Expectation. Our organisation chart shows our internal structure.

ARENA was established by the Australian Government to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia. Our purpose is to accelerate Australia’s shift to affordable and reliable renewable energy. Our work is to support Australian renewable energy projects with financial assistance to maximise the benefits of the energy transition to the Australian economy.

Please view the ARENA Corporate Plan which is required under paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).

Copies of our Annual Reports are provided to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction.

This includes information which we routinely give access to in response to FOI access requests. As documents that are routinely released are identified these will be published on the FOI Disclosure Log.

Our Annual Reports set out our progress and priorities and include financial information as well as Board and Executive remuneration.

We also regularly publish additional detail on the projects that we support. This takes the form of media statements, submissions, quarterly investment reports, case studies, and market reports.

For assistance in accessing information held by ARENA, please contact the Department’s FOI Officer.

ARENA has arrangements in place with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to assist in processing FOI requests. FOI requests received by ARENA are published in the Department’s disclosure log on ARENA’s behalf in accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the FOI Act.

The information described in the FOI Disclosure Log has been released by ARENA under the FOI Act and the Department should make the information available for public access within 10 working days after an applicant is given access to the document.

On 1 February 2020, ARENA’s portfolio department changed from the Department of Environment and Energy to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. For the disclosure log relating to information released prior to 1 February 2020, please refer to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s website. For the current disclosure log and contact details of the Department’s FOI Officer, please refer to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources website.

The disclosure log requirement does not apply to:

• personal information about any person if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable;’
• information about the business, commercial, financial or professional affairs of any person if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable’
• other information covered by a determination made by the Australian Information Commissioner if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable’; and
• any information if it is not reasonably practicable to publish the information because of the extent of modifications that would need to be made to delete the information listed above.

A charge may be imposed to reimburse the Department for the cost incurred in copying, reproducing and/or sending the information to you. There will be no charge for the time we spend in processing the FOI access request that led to this information being made available. You will be notified if any charge is payable and required to pay the charge before the information is provided.