Victoria's privacy commission orders release of secret COVID lockdown briefings

Victoria's government has been ordered to release the details of confidential lockdown briefings after the state's privacy commission found there was significant public interest.

Key points:

• Public Access Deputy Commissioner Joanne Kummrow ordered the release of more than 100 pages of briefings related to February's five-day lockdown
• She rejected the Department of Health's argument that the release of the documents would "affect the frankness and candour" of future advice
• The advice could be released within a fortnight if the department does not appeal against the decision

The Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) ruling relates to February's five-day lockdown but may pave the way for the advice behind other measures to be released.

Public Access Deputy Commissioner Joanne Kummrow found a key document contained "important information about the way the Victorian government responded to COVID-19, including the rationale for public health orders".

"I consider there is significant public interest in providing members of the community the ability to participate in such processes and to hold governments to account for the decisions it has made," the deputy commissioner said.

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The decision is a victory for the state opposition, which applied for the release of the documents under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws and has been calling for health advice to be publicly released since the start of the pandemic.