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Australia’s Third Open Government National Action Plan released
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The Australian Government recently released Australia’s Third Open Government National Action Plan (NAP3).
NAP3 is focused on the delivery of 8 commitments to improve public participation and engagement in government, strengthen government and corporate sector integrity, and enhance Australia’s democratic processes.
Our Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Hampton and incoming Freedom of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd were involved in the co-design of NAP3 as members of the Open Government Forum alongside civil society and other government members.
As a key integrity agency dedicated to managing government-held information as a national resource, the OAIC will work as part of the Open Government Partnership Australia to progress the commitments in NAP3.
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Cyber security obligations for corporate leaders
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The Australian Government recently released a booklet [PDF 7.1 MB] to help corporate leaders understand and fulfil their cyber security obligations, including obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.
The booklet details the rules, regulations and laws that apply to Australia’s critical infrastructure sectors.
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CDR summary report published
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Earlier in January we published the summary report for our fourth Consumer Data Right (CDR) privacy assessment (or audit) – our first assessment to focus on how consumer consent and authorisation processes are being managed in the CDR. |
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New freedom of information agency resource
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In December 2023 we published a new freedom of information (FOI) agency resource – Managing an increased volume of FOI requests – which helps agencies experiencing increases in FOI requests to comply with the statutory processing times in the FOI Act.
The resource suggests agencies develop an action plan that takes into account a range of practical strategies, including proactive publication of relevant material, working with applicants to refine the scope of their requests, seeking extensions of time to process requests where appropriate, and providing information about these strategies on the agency’s FOI webpage.
The resource provides links to further guidance on applying for extensions of time, the FOI Essentials Toolkit and Part 3 of the FOI Guidelines (Processing and deciding on requests for access). |
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Key privacy campaigns in 2024
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Sunday 28 January was Data Privacy Day (also known a Data Protection Day in Europe) – an international campaign to encourage individuals and businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust – objectives that are at the core of the OAIC’s work.
And as we reach the end of January the time has come for us to start gearing up for Australia’s own Asia-Pacific equivalent, Privacy Awareness Week (PAW), which commences on Monday 6 May. In 2024 we will be celebrating with new Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind, who commences late February.
Sign up your organisation now as a supporter for PAW 2024 and be among the first to hear news about the week, access the toolkit, and show your support for privacy.
We’d also love to hear the highlights of how your organisation marked PAW 2023, where we went ‘Back to Basics’. Email [email protected] and let us know if we can share your story to help inspire others. |
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Upcoming speaking engagements
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Our commissioners have several speaking engagements across February.
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk will speak about regulatory challenges with artificial intelligence (AI) at an international meeting on 9 February. The meeting is being organised by the Italian Data Protection Authority and the Privacy Symposium and will bring together global data protection authorities, industry and AI experts and researchers to discuss AI developments, opportunities, challenges, government policy and regulation.
Commissioner Falk will be a speaker at Clyde & Co’s 2024 Cyber Summit on 15 February.
Incoming FOI Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd will discuss why information access matters to Australia at The Mandarin’s Rebuilding Trust and Integrity in the Australian Public Service conference on 22 February. She will share insights into the fundamental benefits of strengthening information access for Australians and how public sector leaders can play a role in advancing this objective.
Members of the OAIC’s FOI branch will be presenting a series of informal webinars for small, micro and new agencies in 2024. These webinars will address frequently enquired-about topics such as the Information Publication Scheme, reporting FOI statistics to the OAIC and applications for extensions of time. |
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Information Commissioner decisions
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Information Commissioner review decisions are published on AustLII. Recent decisions include:
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Working at the OAIC will put you at the forefront of data protection and access to information regulation. As an independent statutory agency, the OAIC’s work is of national significance and plays an important role in shaping Australia’s information handling landscape across the economy – from government, digital platforms and the online environment, to health, finance and telecommunications.
We are an agency within the Attorney-General Department’s portfolio with responsibility for:
- privacy functions under the Privacy Act 1988 and other legislation
- freedom of information, in particular review of decisions made by agencies and ministers under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
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Latest news and submissions
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Please do not reply to this message as you will not get a response. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].
If you would prefer not to continue receiving this monthly newsletter, you can unsubscribe below. If you have been forwarded this newsletter by someone else, we invite you to subscribe.
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