What is the Information Publication Scheme?
As a result of major changes to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), Australian Government agencies that are subject to the FOI Act are required to publish a range of information on their websites as part of an Information Publication Scheme (IPS). This includes the agencies’ structure, functions, appointments, annual reports, consultation arrangements, and details of the agency's freedom of information (FOI) officer. Information routinely released through FOI requests and routinely provided to parliament must also be published online.
The IPS is intended to form the basis for a more open and transparent culture across government, with agencies encouraged to take a proactive approach to publishing the information they hold, and to consider publishing information over and above what they are obliged to publish.
Who regulates the IPS?
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is also the agency with oversight responsibility for the IPS scheme for all Australian Government agencies that are subject to the FOI Act. To find out more about the IPS see FOI fact sheet 4: The information publication scheme for Australian Government agencies.
More detailed information to assist other Australian Government agencies in developing their own IPS entry is available in Guidelines issued under section 93A of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and on our FOI agency resources page.
OAIC’s Information Publication Scheme entry
Note: the RSS feed associated with this page only includes items added to the (OAIC's) website, which fit within the OAIC's Information Publication Scheme, and that have not been added to other OAIC's feeds.
The OAIC is committed to taking a proactive approach to publishing information. Our IPS Agency Plan outlines our approach to the scheme and what we will include in our IPS entry. Below are headings for each of the categories of information we are publishing in our IPS entry. Under each heading are links to the information or documents. If you have any difficulty accessing any information please contact us.
Information on requesting access to other information the OAIC holds, not published through the IPS or elsewhere on our website, can also be found on the Access our information page.
Information that we have released under FOI requests is available on our FOI disclosure log.
Required information
Agency IPS plan
The OAIC is required under section 8(2)(a) of the FOI Act to publish the OAIC Agency IPS plan.
Who we are
The OAIC is required under sections 8(2)(b) and 8(2)(d) of the FOI Act to publish information about the organisation and structure of the agency, the location of offices, governance arrangements, senior management team and statutory appointments. This information is available on the pages set out below.
What we do
The OAIC is required under ss 8(2)(c) and 8(2)(j) of the FOI Act to publish a description of the functions and powers of the agency, and the rules, guidelines, practices and precedents relating to those functions and powers (that is, operational information). This information is available on the pages set out below.
Operational information
Our FOI 'operational information' is found throughout this website, particularly in the following sections:
Our Privacy 'operational information' is found throughout this website, particularly in the following sections:
The OAIC's general operational information is found throughout this website, in particular in the following sections:
Our functional delegations and authorisations are included on the FOI operational and Privacy operational pages.
Our reports and responses to parliament
The OAIC is required under ss 8(2)(e) and 8(2)(h) of the FOI Act to publish Annual reports laid before the Parliament, and other information routinely provided to the Parliament. Our reports and responses to parliament are found through our Corporate information page. That page includes links to our Annual Reports and our responses to the Senate orders in relation to file lists and grants and appointments and vacancies.
Routinely requested information and FOI disclosure log
The OAIC is required under ss 8(2)(g) and 11C of the FOI Act to publish information to which the agency routinely gives access in response to FOI requests and the disclosure log of information that has been released under the FOI Act. Information that can be published resulting from freedom of information requests and any routinely released information from such requests is found in our FOI disclosure log.
Consultation arrangements
The OAIC is required under s 8(2)(f) of the FOI Act to publish information about consultation arrangements that enable members of the public to comment on specific policy proposal for which the agency is responsible.
The OAIC employs a range of external consultation mechanisms, including through the release of issues or discussion papers, the use of blogs and other social media tools.
All public consultations on policy proposals will be listed on the following pages:
These pages provide more information about how comments can be made on OAIC consultations.
Contact us
The OAIC is required under s 8(2)(i) of the FOI Act to publish contact details of an officer (or officers) who can be contacted about access to the agency's information under the FOI Act. We have comprehensive information about how you can make contact with us on the Contact us page, including in relation to freedom of information requests and this IPS entry.
Other information
Our priorities
Under s 8(4) of the FOI Act, the OAIC publishes information about the corporate and strategic plans of the agency.
Our finances
Under s 8(4) of the FOI Act, the OAIC publishes information about our finances, including information relating to pay and grading structures in the agency, procurement procedures, tendering and contracts.
Our lists
Under s 8(4) of the FOI Act, the OAIC publishes information about agency contracts, grants and appointments, links to datasets published by the agency, information held in registers required by law, and other lists and registers relating to the agency's functions.
Our submissions
Under s 8(4) of the FOI Act, the OAIC publishes information about our submissions to parliamentary committees and other inquiries. These submissions can be found can be found on Our submissionspage.
Our policies
Under s 8(4) of the FOI Act, the OAIC publishes our corporate policies. A selection of OAIC policies are available on the Key OAIC documents page.
The OAIC is continuing to update many of the corporate policies of the former Office of the Privacy Commissioner. As they are updated we will include them as part of our IPS entry.
Notifications
