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 before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Agency provided some information to the Applicant but decided that other information is not held by the Agency as it is held by the Contractor and remains its intellectual property. The GIPA Act provides a right to access information held in a record of an NSW Government agency and that right may also apply to information held by contractors providing services to the public.
The NSW IPC has published guidance for agencies under section 121 of the GIPA Act, including a template clause for agencies to include in contracts with third parties regarding the right of access to contractor records. You can access the Guides in the IPC’s case summary on Automated Decision Making and access to information under the GIPA Act here.
