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February 2, 2026
Services Australia has ditched its longstanding former practice to keep documents released under Freedom of Information laws off its website.
It seems "accessibility limitations" were behind the agency's annoying practice of making people apply for access to already released FOI materials, instead of automatically publishing them on its disclosure log.
"The documents would only be available for download in one file type format, which may pose a potential disability discrimination risk," Services Australia said in a response to a question on notice from Senate estimates.
Thankfully, the agency has decided to change course, with FOI docs stretching back 12 months uploaded over the summer.
"The agency will make accessible versions of disclosure log documents available on request," it said.
The change followed questioning by Liberal Senator James Paterson, the opposition's finance and public service spokesperson, who had complained the agency's former approach was "contrary to FOI guidelines."
"It's completely out of step with every other government department or agency I've dealt with," Senator Paterson said.
In its defence, Services Australia said it was not the only agency to have made people fill out an online form to access FOI documents that had been released, although it had been advised to change this several years ago.
Better late than never. Hey, Chat? It's ScoMo It's hard to recall a time before artificial intelligence took over, with chatbots now advising users on everything from prioritising tasks to navigating tricky relationships.
Unsurprisingly, OpenAI's ChatGPTwhich exploded in November 2022 - is in widespread use among public servants and politicians.
Including, it turns out, former prime ministers.
Former Liberal PM Scott Morrison is billing taxpayers for ChatGPT. Picture AAP Scott Morrison - who left the federal Parliament in 2024 almost two years after his government's May 2022 election defeat - has billed the taxpayer for his ChatGPT Plus subscription, according to official documents.
Of course, the expense - billed at USD$22 a month plus GST - is a drop in the ocean of all former PMs' taxpayer-funded office costs, which totalled $1.8 million last year.
Former prime ministers receive a long list of benefits, including office space, staff, and travel, as part of their retirement package.
Mr Morrison has kept busy since leaving politics with advisory roles for groups including American Global Strategies and DYNE Maritime, and is chair of the Space Centre Australia.
Invoices released under FOI by the Finance Department also show ChatGPT subscriptions billed by Liberal senator Sarah Henderson, South Australian Labor MP Matt Burnell and independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.
A ChatGPT team subscription, costing USD$120 plus GST each month, was also invoiced for one of the Pococks - although, bizarrely, their first name was redacted.
One lump, or 10?
While Scott Morrison is remembered for wielding a lump of coal during parliamentary question time in 2017, he's far from the only coal-obsessed member of the sometimes-Coalition.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, a vocal opponent of Australia's net-zero by 2050 emissions reduction target, has declared not one, but 10 lumps of coal on his register of interests.
The "mounted pieces of coal" were gifted to the Queensland senator - who on Sunday denied claims that he was pulling the strings of the National Party amid the Coalition's latest messy split - by Bravus Mining and Resources.
Senator Canavan also declared two nights' accommodation in Adelaide on 15 and 16 December 2025, "provided by the South Australian Liberal Party".
Could it have been for a meeting with fellow net-zero opponents and South Australian Liberals, MP Tony Pasin and Senator Alex Antic?
Public Eye's questions to Senator Canavan went unanswered.