YOU get the feeling Lynne Bertolini will have her work cut out over the next three years. A few weeks ago, the little-known public servant was a director of licensing at the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. Today, she's Victoria's first freedom-of-information watchdog - a long-awaited election promise delivered on the eve of Ted Baillieu's mid-term anniversary.


Bertolini faces a pretty big task. Over the years, the FOI system has become a farce, undermined by political manipulation, absurd delays and flimsy excuses designed to keep more information in than out.


The irony is that demand for information is stronger than ever, with the number of FOI requests growing every year. Based on the latest government figures, 34,052 FOI requests were lodged between 2010 and 2011. That equates to at least 654 applications a week - or 93 a day - from members of the public, journalists and opposition MPs seeking access to documents locked in the vaults of government departments and agencies.


Sometimes those documents are released in full, in line with the intent of the FOI act that Labor premier John Cain introduced three decades ago. But about one in four requests is either partly or completely denied, in an apparent desire to avoid scrutiny, negate risk or shun the public interest.


Bertolini's task is to investigate complaints and conduct ''first stage'' reviews requested by people who fail to get the information they want. This is welcome - at the moment, first-stage reviews are conducted by public servants from the same department denying access in the first place.


The problem is, instead of having a watchdog with real teeth, Victoria's new FOI commissioner has been given only restricted powers by the government.


She can't review decisions by ministers or department heads. She can't authorise the release of so-called ''cabinet-in-confidence'' documents. She cannot conduct ''own motion'' investigations, like other public watchdogs can. Nor can she compel departments to accept her recommendations, and her rulings can always be appealed.


Asked how effective she reckons she will be, Bertolini is optimistic. She refuses to be drawn on the extent of her powers (''any limitations - if there are any - will be a matter for the government,'' she says) but she insists the culture of FOI can change with more carrot, less stick, and some good old-fashioned education.


''I know a lot of people have raised concerns about how the system works … but from my perspective, my job is about ensuring that there is a clear understanding of the act and the objectives of the legislation,'' she told The Sunday Age.


''There's that section [in the act] that says, as far as possible, decisions should facilitate disclosure of information. I think it's just a matter of explaining what that means.''


Anyone who uses the FOI system will hope it's that simple. As Baillieu once declared in opposition: ''Freedom of information should be a matter of saying, 'Ask and you shall receive'.'' Instead, it's a battle of wits and a test of endurance between those who seek the information and those who have it.


Bertolini should know. At the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, there were 23 FOI requests over the past two years. How many times was information released in full? Not once.


According to Auditor-General Des Pearson, who recently reviewed how state departments handled FOI laws, the problem is the culture within the bureaucracy. Over time, ministerial staff and public servants have developed a sense of ''apathy and resistance to scrutiny'' when it comes to dealing with the public's requests. As a result, ''Victoria has gone from being at the forefront of FOI law and administration to one of the least progressive jurisdictions in Australia'', Pearson says.


For all the Coalition's chest-beating in opposition, little has changed. According to Pearson's audit, requests for information were constantly held up in the Premier's private office, where Baillieu's senior adviser, Don Coulson, handles FOI applications. Baillieu's Department of Premier and Cabinet also took about 92 days to respond to FOI requests - more than double the 45-day statutory limit.


And all too often, ridiculous excuses are used to deny requests. In one recent case, the government refused to release economic modelling, cited repeatedly to publicly attack Canberra's carbon tax, because ''disclosure would be contrary to the public interest''.


In another case, an FOI request about protective services officers was rejected because it could have caused ''mischief'' or ''confusion''.


The good news is that the Coalition's reforms are better than the status quo, and certainly more than Labor did to reform FOI during 11 years in office. Victoria has never had an FOI commissioner to conduct independent reviews and investigate complaints; in that sense, Bertolini's appointment is a step in the right direction. Let's hope she makes a difference.


■ Farrah Tomazin is state politics editor. Twitter: @farrahtomazin