It’s Right to Know Week NSW 2023

Right to Know Week (RTK) NSW takes place from 25 Sep – 1 Oct this year. The theme for 2023 is the importance of the online space for access to information.

RTK aims to raise awareness of a person’s right to access government held information in NSW and public sector agencies’ information access obligations under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act).

The Right to Know remains crucial in this digital age. The online space plays a pivotal role in empowering citizens by providing easy and convenient access to a vast array of government information.

The NSW Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd, has released a “Welcome to Right to Know Week” video to mark the start of the week. Watch below:

Informal release under the GIPA Act provides agencies with a flexible and efficient pathway to exercise their discretion to release information.

During Right to Know Week, the NSW Information Commissioner will be releasing a new training webinar for agencies to learn about effective and efficient informal release of government information that better serves agencies and citizens alike.

You’ll be able to access the webinar via our YouTube channel.

Resources: 

During the week, the Information Commissioner is releasing new resources for agencies focusing on informal release. These include:

• Templates for Informal Release Decision Letters
• Checklist on Informal Access
• Information Access Guideline 11 – Informal Release of Information
• Template for Agency Informal Release Records

For citizens, the IPC has updated the following resource:

• Updated Fact Sheet for citizens on Frequently asked questions – Informal Release of Information.

Your information access rights in NSW

In NSW, citizens have a legally enforceable right to access most government held information and can expect access to be open and freely available unless there is an overriding public interest against the disclosure of information.

The IPC can assist NSW citizens in accessing government held information. Learn more in our information access resources for citizens.

You can also learn more about what’s on this Right to Know Week here.