The South Australian Government has been ordered to reveal documents about the fire risk posed by cladding on the Adelaide Convention Centre, with the state's independent umpire rejecting arguments that the release of the information could put the public building at risk of attack.

Key points: The SA Attorney-General has argued against releasing the documents

The SA Attorney-General has argued against releasing the documents However, the ombudsman rejected that argument, ordering that they be released

However, the ombudsman rejected that argument, ordering that they be released The ABC will not receive the documents until the end of a 30-day period in case of an appeal

The Government has fought the release of the documents to the ABC under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman made an unusual intervention in the process, arguing they contained content that would lead to a "heightened risk of attacks" and have a "significant impact on the safety of the public, the buildings themselves, and the state's economy".

But the South Australian Ombudsman Wayne Lines rejected her argument, ordering documents including board reports, minutes and emails be turned over.

"This is not a multistorey complex which people occupy continuously, such as an apartment tower or hospital," he wrote.

"The safety of the public is more likely to be assisted by release of information … secrecy is not the only option available to the Government to ensure the safety of those who use the Adelaide Convention Centre."

Redevelopment work is carried out on the Adelaide Convention Centre in 2016. ( ABC News: Sarah Scopelianos )

The Government also argued disclosure could affect the state's finances, by hurting both the business activities of the venue and the value of the building itself.

"The suggestion that there is ACP [aluminium composite panel] cladding at the Adelaide Convention Centre is already widely known," Mr Lines wrote.

"If some significant adverse effect is to take place due to knowledge of the presence of ACP cladding, it has already happened."

Mr Lines has agreed with a decision by the convention centre's operators, Adelaide Venue Management (AVM), not to publish documents detailing the precise location of specific cladding panels on the building.

The ABC will not receive the documents until the end of a 30-day period in which AVM can appeal.

The convention centre is believed by authorities to be clad in the worst type of flammable aluminium panels, known as "black core".

The cladding consists of a thin layer of aluminium, over a black-coloured core typically made of high-density polyethene.

Last year, the ABC revealed that the company responsible for fire engineering on the building was worried that replacing cladding panels would hurt its reputation as it bid for future work.

A State Government audit in 2018 determined the building was a "moderate" risk.

Attorney-General overruled in submission

In a last-ditch intervention late in the appeals process, Ms Chapman issued a rare assessment of the public interest, arguing that 21 of the documents contained content that should be withheld.

Ms Chapman issued a rare assessment of the public interest over the documents. ( ABC News: Martin Davies )

The ombudsman was legally required to follow the Attorney-General's last-ditch assessment unless he determined there were "cogent" reasons not to do so.

"I have cogent reason to depart from the Attorney-General's assessment in relation to the identification of specific buildings with cladding of concern," Mr Lines wrote.

The State Government also submitted a statement from an Assistant Commissioner of police and brought in lawyers from the Crown Solicitor's office to argue against releasing documents.

Ms Chapman has separately proposed a crackdown on ministerial interventions into FOI applications, including the creation of an offence for "improperly directing or influencing a decision or determination".

The Ombudsman SA office told the ABC that its records show assessments of the public interest have only been made by the Attorney-General four times in the past decade.

In a statement, an SA Government spokesperson maintained the position that disclosing information posed a risk.

"There is a risk that persons with criminal or politically motivated intent, could potentially use this information to deliberately target these buildings with the intent to start fires," the spokesperson said.

"The widespread distribution of this information could pose an unacceptable risk of potential criminal fire ignition."

Twenty buildings remain at "high" or "extreme" risk

Work is continuing to resolve problems found in the state-wide audit of combustible cladding.

The latest update published by the South Australian Government shows that 20 privately owned buildings with a "high" or "extreme" fire danger rating still require rectification work.

Work has commenced on three of those, while eight other dangerous buildings have been satisfactorily fixed or otherwise resolved.

Two Government-owned buildings — including a public toilet block — have now had their risk ratings reduced to "low".