Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report – 1989 Freedom of Information Act

Section 8 Statement

The Reserve Bank is an exempt agency under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in relation to documents in respect of its banking operations (including individual open market operations and foreign exchange dealings) and in respect of exchange control matters.

Facilities for Access and FOI Procedures

Inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act, including requests for access to documents, should be directed to the Secretary, Head Office, or to the Managers of Branches (General Manager at Note Printing Branch). Addresses are shown on pages 68 and 70 of this Report.

Applications should be accompanied by the application fee (currently $30).

Facilities to inspect documents to which access has been granted are available in the Bank's branches.

Organisation and Functions

The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank. It was established by Commonwealth legislation in 1911.

Its functions, powers and responsibilities are specified in the Reserve Bank Act 1959, the Banking Act 1959, the Financial Corporations Act 1974 and the Regulations under those Acts.

More detail is given elsewhere in this Report and in the booklet Reserve Bank of Australia: Functions and Operations, available at all Reserve Bank branches.

The policy of the Bank is determined by its Board (see pages 4 and 5). The Governor manages the Bank within that policy. For administrative purposes, the Bank operates through a number of departments (see pages 68 and 69).

Arrangements for Outside Participation

The Bank attaches considerable importance to its direct contacts with financial intermediaries.

Regular meetings occur with executives of banks and with bodies representing firms in the financial sector. Further details are contained in Functions and Operations.

Categories of Documents

Categories of documents available to the public are given in Functions and Operations. A list of publications, including speeches, articles, occasional papers, information booklets, conference volumes and regular press releases is published from time to time in the Bulletin. The most recent list is in the August 1989 issue.

Other documents held by the Bank take the form of working files on policy and operational matters, statistical data, personnel, premises and general administration.