Information Governance in the AI age
The Australian National Audit Office has released its performance audit report, Administration of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 by Selected Entities, Auditor-General Report No. 32 of 2025-26 (ANAO FOI Report). The audit examined whether selected entities’ administration of FOI requests was effective at providing the community with access to […]
In a recent OAIC blog marking her first six months in the role, Freedom of Information Commissioner Alice Linacre PSM reinforces that FOI is not simply a statutory process, it is central to transparency, public participation and trust in government. The article highlights the scale of FOI activity across […]
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner published in January 2026, Automated decision-making and public reporting under the Freedom of Information Act, a targeted report examining how Australian Government agencies disclose their use of automated decision-making (ADM) through the Information Publication Scheme. The review forms part of the OAIC’s broader integrity […]
OAIC has published the Australian Government FOI statistics dashboard, which presents key freedom of information (FOI) data over the last 5 years, as Australian Government agencies and ministers reported to the OAIC under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The dashboard is an interactive presentation of data published in the […]
The OAIC has published a self-assessment tool for agencies. It has been developed to assist agencies in reviewing the effectiveness of their information access systems and overall FOI compliance and identifying gaps or areas for improvement, as well as areas where they are doing well. The self-assessment tool is now complemented by a […]
On 13 January 2025, the Freedom of Information Commissioner, Toni Pirani, released the Freedom of Information (FOI) Practitioners’ Survey 2024 report. Ms Pirani has highlighted three key learnings: Improving systems will make complying with FOI obligations easier The majority of agencies require improvement to their systems and policies for records […]
The Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) published new research on freedom of information (FOI) culture in Victoria and the importance of proactive and informal release of information. “The release of documents under the FOI Act is not the only way that governments can share information with the public” […]
The Victorian Information Commissioner’s report into the delay in disclosure of government documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) was recently tabled in the Victorian Parliament. Between 2015 and 2020, the proportion of FOI decisions made on time in Victoria declined from 95% to 79%. The investigation examined […]
The increasing adoption of technology requires the preservation, assurance and assertion of information access rights. To achieve these outcomes, government licensing and contractual arrangements should ensure accessibility and ‘explainability’ in the provision of government services and decision making. The issue of algorithmic transparency of a government agency’s contractor is currently […]
