Rex Patrick to challenge denial of FoI requests based on ministerial portfolio changes

Court to consider rule that keeps large swathes of government documents secret by denying freedom of information requests

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The practice of using ministerial portfolio changes to keep large swathes of government documents secret is severely undermining transparency and accountability, the federal court will hear on Monday.

Rex Patrick, who marked himself as a transparency campaigner during his time in the Senate, is mounting a legal challenge against a common method of denying freedom of information requests for documents held by government ministers.

Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup