Report on the operation of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009: 2010 - 2013
View the full report or download it here Report - Report on the GIPA Act 2010-13
The Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd has tabled the Report on the operation of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009: 2010 – 2013 in Parliament.
Under section 37 of the Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 (GIIC Act), the Information Commissioner is required to provide to Parliament an annual report on the operation of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the Act). This is the first year that such a report has been submitted.
The purpose of the report is to provide a retrospective baseline report on the early years of the Act across the five decision making sectors the GIPA Act applies to: NSW government agencies, state owned corporations, NSW councils, universities and Ministers and their staff. From this baseline report we can advance our collective responsibility for information access and its contribution to our democratic society by:
- improving the operations of the Act;
- enhancing the Act’s objectives; and
- creating a basis for evaluation for future reports, policy and initiatives.
The three-year report confirms the Act is achieving its goal of improving the general approach of decision makers in providing timely and proactive access to information, giving the citizens of NSW confidence in Government decision making. The report indicates that the strategic intent of the Act is largely being met with most agencies complying with the Act’s requirements:
- Consistent and credible levels of information release
- High levels of timeliness
- Increasing number of valid applications
- The application of public interest considerations
- Greater release of information through agency reviews.
Please note: there are minor omissions regarding percentages in Table D, G and H in Appendix 7 of the report relating to the Ministerial sector. The effect of these omissions on the analysis and other data in the report is negligible.
Snapshot of data
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50,318 applications were lodged across the five sectors
- 82% of those applications were lodged with government agencies, state owned corporations or Ministers
- 17% of the applications were lodged with NSW councils
- 61% of the applications lodged with government are attributed to three agencies: Police (36%) RMS (15%) and WorkCover (10%)
- 87% of decisions made by agencies were processed within the statutory time frame
- There is a positive trend with 2,245 invalid applications received in 2010 – 2011 reduced to 1,699 in 2012 – 2013.
The way forward
Over the next year, the Information Commissioner will examine how agencies and the IPC can work collaboratively to achieve greater maturity in:
- the reporting framework to deliver quality data and more integrated information
- operational competencies, particularly through information and training to assist agencies to streamline service delivery
- decision making, particularly at the initial decision making stage to ensure information is made available at the earliest point in the access process.
Text alternative for 'Snapshot of GIPA data flowchart'.
Three years at a glance
Text alternative for 'Infographic of GIPA Act: 3 years at a glance'.
Resources
If you find that you are having difficulties reading our documents or other material, please contact us on 1800 472 679 so we can provide another option for you to access our material.
- Report on the operation of the GIPA Act 2010-13
- All GIPA Compliance Reports
- Online GIPA data for all years
