It’s only been 8 days since the Australian Government launched the new Office of the Australian Information Commissioner but the new agency that encompasses the existing functions of the Privacy Commissioner and the new appointments of Australian Information Commissioner and Freedom of Information Commissioner is continuing to steer the discussion of access to Australian public sector information in the right direction with the release of their first issues paper, Towards an Australian Government Information Policy. Opening with a reminder that “information is a valuable and powerful resource and is at the heart of government,” the paper synthesises much of the policy work that has happened in this area in the past few years and serves to orientate where the new OAIC fits into Federal Government information management processes. It also signals areas of recommendation where the OAIC is seeking public commentary.
The paper also outlines ten Draft Principles on Open Public Sector Information:
- Open access to information – a default position;
- Effective information governance;
- Robust information asset management frameworks;
- Findable information;
- Sound decision-making processes;
- Transparent complaints processes;
- Open and accessible formats online;
- Appropriate charging for access;
- Clear reuse rights; and
- Engaging the community.
We are pleased to see that the OAIC issues paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution licence, as is the content on the new OAIC website. Details on how to comment on the issues paper can be found on page 60 of the report.
Credits—Photo: Screen capture of ‘Population Pyramid – Australia‘ by Australian Bureau of Statistics, CC BY 2.5 Australia.
2012
Thanks Elliott for highlighting the appointment of the OAIC. As an advocate for the uptake of many of the recommendations of the Government 2.0 Taskforce, I am pleased to see that the government is taking the matter seriously. It is encouraging to see that, not only is the OAIC only eight days into it’s existence, but it is also enabling people to provide input to the consultative processes . The shame of it is that they have not provided a more web2.0 way to comment on the paper even though they have stated that “comments in electronic format are preferred”. Nevertheless this is a great step forward.
I hope the good work of the GILF in Queensland is carefully considered when the final decisions are made on advancing information policy in Australia. Creative Commons licensing is key to effective information management in Australian Government in the future and solid leadership from the OAIC will make the sharing and reusing information so much easier.
I will take the time over the next few days to read the issues paper closely and hopefully I can provide some comment and input to the process from a Local Government perspective.