Confidentiality, shadow boxing and proper processes - the FOI challenge in recruitment and promotion processes in Australian universities

This essay focuses upon a key aspect of decision-making in a university context in the processes of appointment and promotion of staff, namely, the obtaining of reports on individuals who are the applicants for appointment or promotion. The specific issue to be examined concerns the right of a disappointed applicant to obtain access to reports that were considered by the relevant person or committee in making the decision about appointment or promotion. I consider the concept and function of confidentiality in such processes and its role in the context of legislated access to information expressed in Freedom of Information ("FOI") legislation. In the arena of publicly-funded universities, what we see is an interplay between equitable notions of confidence in relation to information, administrative law as applicable to govemment agencies, and gut instincts of fair play (to the extent that they are expressed in law). It is a fascinating testing ground for those who are engaged on a daily basis in academic administration in universities.