Freedom of information

Victorian public have a legal right to access the information held by the government.

This right is upheld by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and is legally enforceable.

Update on Freedom of Information requests

We are currently experiencing a significant increase in Freedom of Information (FOI) submissions. It will take 35 weeks on average to process your FOI request.

We strongly recommend all FOI requests be made through the Victorian Government's online portal.

For all other correspondence, please email us at foi@police.vic.gov.au

Victoria Police and FOI

We support the public right to access information by:

making information about our operations available to the public
making all rules and information about practices available to those affected
facilitating a right of access to documents that we hold (limited only by exceptions and exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982)
delivering an efficient, timely and affordable process for disclosing information.

Why you might need to access information

You may need access to documents for court proceedings or to help you claim compensation as a victim of crime.

Victoria Police can provide access to information you may not be able to find elsewhere.

To access documents for court proceedings, get in touch with the Victoria Police Subpoena Coordination Unit (SCU).
- For general enquiries, email subpoena-management-lsd-mgr@police.vic.gov or call 03 8533 0404.
- Court-issued subpoenas and any accompanying documentation must be served by email to subpoena-service-smu@police.vic.gov.au.
Find out more about subpoenas at Subpoena coordination.

Type of information we can release under FOI

We develop a broad range of electronic and hard copy documents. Some of these get published and are accessible online, in print, or in person.

Freedom of Information Part II Statements can help you find out about where and how to access available content.

Freedom of Information Part II Information Statements

PDF 350.11 KB

Information recorded by Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP)

LEAP is an electronic document and records management system we use to classify, store, access and manage relevant documentation.

It allows us to capture information relating to incidents, events, personal details and case management.

Documentation recorded by LEAP includes:

A LEAP Person History Report shows someone's information as held by Victoria Police. It lists interactions that person has had with us that have been recorded in the LEAP database.
This report will not provide specific details of the listed involvements. However, accessing this report may help identify particular incidents.
If you need documents connected to specific incidents or involvements, you may submit a further FOI request.
LEAP incident reports can detail:
- time, date, and place of the incident
- the identity of the offenders
- the status of the matter
- narrative of the incident.
Information that we generally do not release under FOI include, but are not limited to:
- personal affairs information about third parties
- body-worn camera footage
- records of interview (audio/video)
- visual and audio taped/recorded evidence (VARE/VATE)
- Triple Zero (000) calls made by third parties (audio/transcript)
- documents provided to the Coroner
- any information containing details likely to help identify a child as a party to a proceeding in a Children’s Court
- any information containing details likely to help identify an alleged victim/victim of a sexual offence
- the name of any person who believes a child is in need of protection and makes a report or any information that is likely to lead to their identification
- information relating to prisons and prisoners
- information held on the Victorian Firearms Register
- documents contained in the Sex Offenders Register
- documents created by the Victoria Police Intelligence and Covert Support Command
- documents relating to counter-terrorism.

Before you submit a FOI request

Submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request should be your last option.

You will not be able to use the FOI Act to get information that is already publicly available elsewhere (Section 14 of the FOI Act).

Before submitting your FOI request, check if you can get the material you need from other official sources:

Submit a FOI request

You must request access to documents under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in writing. Application fee or proof of hardship must also be included with your request.

You can request to access documents under the FOI Act online at the Victorian Government's online portal(opens in a new window).
This is the best and most efficient way to submit your request.
Prepare your FOI request
Your FOI request should:
- clearly set out the document(s) you need from Victoria Police
- provide enough detail to enable the document(s) to be identified.
To help us identify the document(s) you should include:
- the nature of the incident or investigation
- the date and location of the incident
- the names of any other people involved
- the names of any investigating police members
- the police station involved
- any other information to assist this office in identifying the document(s)
To submit a FOI request via post, send your FOI form to:
FOI Officer
GPO Box 913
Melbourne VIC 3001.
Download the FOI request form below:

FOI application form 2024-2025
PDF 185.45 KB

(opens in a new window)

FOI application fee
You must include a cheque or money order for the FOI application fee of $32.70 with your request.
If you cannot afford to pay the FOI application fee, you can ask to have it waived. To support this request, you must include evidence of hardship (i.e. your Centrelink Healthcare card).

Supporting documents to include in your FOI request

We recommend you provide strong documentary evidence in support of your FOI request.

This will depend on whether you are requesting information about yourself, your family, on someone else's behalf or about a third party.

To request access to your personal information, you will need to include:
- proof of identification (i.e. photo ID)
- evidence of name change (i.e. a marriage certificate or name change certificate)
To request access to the personal information of family members, you will need to include:
- written and signed authority from those family members for you to receive their personal information in relation to your request under FOI
- proof of relationship
- litigation guardianship or proof you are the senior next of kin.
To request access to documents on behalf of someone else, you will need authorisation from them to:
- act on their behalf
- receive their personal information under FOI

After you submit a FOI request

We will respond in writing within 30 days after receiving your FOI request and application fee (or fee waiver).

In some circumstances the FOI Act allows for an extension of this period.

Consulting with third parties

We may need to consult with third parties if some information you need from us relates to them. We will ask them about providing their information to you.

Consulting with third parties may extend processing of your request by 15 days. We will share your name and a brief description of your request.

We are not required to consult where:

it is not possible
it would cause distress
it is likely to endanger someone's life or physical safety
it is otherwise unreasonable in the circumstances.

Appealing a decision about your FOI request

If you disagree with our decision, you can appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OVIC)(opens in a new window) within 28 days.

They have 30 days to review, unless you agree to an extended period in writing. Lodging a review request for review is free.

You can appeal OVIC's decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)(opens in a new window) within 60 days of the date you were notified.

For further information visit the Office of the Information Commissioner (OVIC)(opens in a new window).

How we look after public records

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archive of State and Local Government in Victoria.

We follow their standards of storage and destruction of public records under the Public Records Act 1973. This means there is a minimum period of time we keep certain records, after which we may destroy them.