Thank you for the invitation to officially launch Information Awareness Month for 2012. As you know the Information Commissioner, Professor John McMillan, was to have been here today. He is unable to attend, and sends his apologies. But I am very glad to be able to stand in for him.
Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where we gather, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) is an enthusiastic participant in Information Awareness Month. As you may know, the three areas of the OAIC’s responsibility are privacy, freedom of information and information policy. These are critical information issues that are at the heart of democratic government.
And this launch provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of information management in government, business and society.
Common themes
The theme for Information Awareness Month 2012 is ‘Information on Demand—Connecting Information and People’. This is a theme that encompasses a range of issues. My talk today will relate to two of those issues, which are key concerns of the OAIC.
The first is that Government collects a large amount of information, for a wide range of purposes. This information must be managed appropriately.
The second is that information is a national resource. It must be accessible and useable by the community.
It is an exciting time within the Australian Government to be engaging with these issues, and a great deal is happening to develop a coherent and effective information policy.
Principles on open public sector information
To assist agencies to navigate these issues, and to facilitate a free flow of information between government, business and the community, the OAIC last year developed a set of eight principles on open public sector information.
I am going to highlight just a few developments in government that reflect the diverse and innovative activity that is underway. I’ll begin by outlining two activities occurring within the OAIC that relate to the theme of connecting information and people. I’ll then mention some other government developments more generally.
IPS survey
This week the OAIC begins a program, in conjunction with over 200government agencies, to examine how those agencies are meeting their obligations under the new Information Publication Scheme (the IPS).
The IPS provisions in the FOIAct came into effect on 1 May last year. They were designed to reinforce a new culture of proactive publication of information by government agencies. They are based on the principle—spelt out in the objects provision of the FOIAct—that information held by the Government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource.
The first of two compliance surveys was sent yesterday to all Government agencies subject to the FOIAct. We expect to conduct the second survey—a comparative survey—in early 2014.
The first survey is in two parts. One seeks to assess agency compliance with five key IPS compliance criteria; the other aims to build a picture of the public sector information held and published by Australian Government agencies.
This will be followed by a period of desktop review.
The idea for this survey grew out of a recommendation made by the Gov2.0 Taskforce, and from an issues paper published by the OAIC last year that outlined the scope and importance of this analysis.
Privacy Awareness Week
The second major activity Iwant to highlight is Privacy Awareness Week. This is a joint initiative of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities, which includes the OAIC.
Privacy Awareness Week connects strongly with the theme of Information Awareness Month in two ways.
One is to remind organisations and the community that personal information must be properly managed.
The second is to enlist the support of organisations—government, business and community organisations generally—in delivering that message.
In effect, Privacy Awareness Week is about sharing information about potential threats to privacy, the practical tips that can be taken to safeguard it, and the principles that should be observed by organisations in managing personal information.
We’re also promoting privacy messages to individuals through a range of channels and reminding Australians of all ages to take steps to protect their personal information.
Yesterday, Professor McMillan launched revised guidelines on data breach notification. These provide a practical framework for organisations and agencies to manage data breaches. They outline four steps to consider when responding to a breach or suspected breach. They also outline preventative measures that should be taken as part of a comprehensive information security plan.
The launch, in Sydney yesterday, attracted around 180 business leaders who came together to discuss how companies can plan for and respond to data breach: if and when it happens.
This is a challenge of growing importance in and outside government. For example, we at the OAIC are aware of an average of one incident of data breach per week. Sometimes these affect the personal information of thousands of people.
I urge you to visit the OAIC’s website where you can download a copy of the new guide. And, if you have not yet done so, please visit the Privacy Awareness Week campaign website. There you will find many educational resources that we encourage you to use, as well as all kinds of suggestions about how you can protect your own personal information.
We have a record number of 143 Privacy Awareness Week partners this year. Last year there were 80, so it’s an annual campaign that is clearly meeting a growing demand.
Other government information initiatives
In the time Ihave left, I’ll briefly mention some of the other exciting government projects underway that connect with the theme of Information Awareness Month.
Digital Continuity Plan
First, let me mention the launch earlier this year by the National Archives of Australia of the Digital Continuity Plan.
One of the key principles in digital information management is that it must be managed so that it is accessible and useable, both in and outside government. The plan is based on six digital continuity principles. Agencies are encouraged to adopt the plan in regards to keeping and managing digital information: to ensure that digital information can be used in the way that is required, for as long as required, and no longer.
Digital continuity ensures information is complete, available and useable by those with a need for it. It also ensures the information is not kept for longer than needed. Agencies cannot afford to ignore information management, because lost, unreliable or poorly controlled information can have a significant impact on the quality and effectiveness of decision making and other aspects of business.
These sentiments are reflected in the OAIC’s principles on open public sector information that I mentioned earlier.
Data.gov.au
A second development is the expansion of the data.gov website, administered by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO). This was established in March 2011 to facilitate sharing of Australia government datasets. Data.gov.autoday houses 864 datasets from 111 contributing agencies.
Recent published initiatives include:
- a contest to develop an app using Brisbane City Council’s datasets
- data charting mental health services in Australia
- a report that presents data about information and communications technology use and expenditure by Australian Government agencies in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and
- DataCatalogs, curated by a group of leading open data experts from around the world, which is said to be the most comprehensive list of open data catalogues to date.
Proactive publication was a theme explored in our recent Information Policy Conference. So it is pleasing to see the growing number of government initiatives dedicated to publishing information that can be re-used for new and secondary purposes.
AusGOAL
Another development the OAIC has taken a keen interest in is AusGOAL: the Australian Governments Open Access and Licensing Framework. Also launched in 2011, AusGOAL provides support and guidance to facilitate open access to publicly funded information. The initiative incorporates various licences including the Australian Creative Commons version3.0 licences. These developments are consistent with the OAIC’s principles on open public sector information, specifically that the economic and social value of public sector information is enhanced when it is made available for reuse on open licensing terms.
Other information projects
There are many other exciting government projects underway in which information management is a key issue, including:
- the whole-of-government Service Delivery ReformProject
- the COAG National Government Information Sharing Strategy
- the National Plan for Environmental Information
- the revision of the Australian Government Intellectual Property Manual, and
- internationally, the launch of the Open Government Partnership.
This last initiative, championed by US President Obama is a global effort to make governments more transparent. Almost 1,200 delegates, representing 73 countries, assembled in Brasilia for its first annual meeting last month. In the spirit of open government, all proceedings were streamed live and organisers report that there were more than 56,000 page views of the Partnership’s website over the meeting period.
Conclusion
So you can see that there is much happening in the information space: both in Australia and overseas.
On behalf of the OAIC, Iam very pleased to launch Information Awareness Month for 2012. Please accept my congratulations to all the organisations that have collaborated in sponsoring it. It is an initiative that deserves our active support.
