Proactive Release of Government Information Policy

Open access information relates to the mandatory release of information. 

Authorised proactive release information is the discretionary release of information to the public, where there is no overriding public interest against disclosure. 

This policy outlines the process for identifying, reviewing and obtaining approval to proactively release government information.

2.1 Open access/mandatory proactive release information

Under the GIPA Act, agencies must publish certain information on their website, free of charge. This is known as ‘open access’ or ‘mandatory proactive release information’. This includes:

• an Agency Information Guide
• information about the agency contained in documents tabled in Parliament
• policy documents
• a register of government contracts
• a disclosure log of information released following a GIPA decision
• a record of any open access information that is not made publicly available due to an overriding public interest against disclosure
• other information that may be required under the GIPA regulations. 

The DCS GIPA team coordinate the agency’s compliance with its obligations under the GIPA Act. This includes maintaining the Agency Information Guide, disclosure log, policy document register and record of open access information not made publicly available.

DCS Corporate Procurement is responsible for the contracts register, ensuring that all government contracts DCS enters into with private sector entities, with a value of $150,000 or more, have mandatory information disclosed on the eTendering website within 45 days after the contract becomes effective.

The DCS GIPA team also works with the Asset Manager in DCS Corporate Services to update annually the major assets, acquisitions and disposals information published on our website.

Roles and responsibilities for open access/mandatory proactive release information are listed in full in section 3 of this policy.

2.2 Identifying information for authorised proactive release

All business divisions are responsible for identifying government information held by DCS for authorised proactive release.

When identifying information for proactive release business divisions should consider what information they hold or are currently creating that may affect members of the public or be in the wider public interest. This may include types of information that gets frequently requested, information that gets a lot of media coverage and identifying trends or hot topics.

Examples of information that may be considered for proactive release include:

• fact sheets, factual information and reports
• DCS publications
• internal manuals
• project information (informing the public of progress)
• discussion/research papers
• data and statistics that would be of public interest
• information or data that is being regularly requested by customers.

Authorised proactive release does not normally include information requested by a customer that directly relates to them – for example, a customer asking for a copy of a letter the agency had sent to them. Providing customer information directly to those that requested should be part of an agency/team’s normal business as usual practices.

2.3 Assess information for authorised proactive release

Information identified for proactive release should be reviewed for any public interest considerations against disclosure of the information. These considerations are set out in detail under Schedule 1 and the Table to section 14 of the GIPA Act. The DCS GIPA team can provide further guidance on how to apply these provisions.

There may also be business or operational considerations, such as stakeholder relations, copyright or resource allocation. These are not considerations under the GIPA Act, but business areas should be mindful of operational impacts.

The checklist attached to this policy provides an overview for business units of things to consider regarding authorised proactive release.

For the purposes of authorised proactive release of information under the GIPA Act, if there are any public interest considerations against release you may not have to proactively release this information. However, it should be noted that it is open to members of the public to request or apply for this type of information under alternative provisions of the GIPA Act, such as a formal or informal access application, at which point further consideration of release will take place.

For more information about public interest considerations, you may wish to refer to the Information and Privacy Commission factsheet. You can also contact the DCS GIPA team for further advice if required.
 

2.4 Approval of information for authorised proactive release

All senior executives (i.e. Senior Executive Bands 1-3) and the GIPA/right to information and privacy teams in DCS are authorised under section 7 of the GIPA Act to proactively release information under the GIPA Act unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.

Section 7(3) of the GIPA Act provides that an agency must, at intervals of not more than 12 months, review its program for the release of government information. DCS’s policy position is that business divisions should review their information holdings twice a year with a recommendation for their senior executive on what information can be proactively released.

Once approved by the relevant senior executive, the business division should arrange for the information to be published on the relevant page of the DCS website or elsewhere as appropriate.

The NSW Government Open Data Policy guides agencies in publishing public sector data in a form that is accessible, usable and consistent across government.

Where the information you are publishing is a dataset, business divisions should actively work to release the datasets, leveraging secure and centralised services such as the Data.NSW Open Data Portal.

You can find more information about the NSW Open Data Policy and Data.NSW Portal on the Data.NSW website.

Business areas should also ensure that the information is provided in an accessible format for all our customers, with reference to Accessibility NSW standards.

The DCS GIPA team should be notified of what information has been proactively released. This will then be reported to the IPC as part of DCS’s annual reporting obligations.

2.5 Release of information outside of the GIPA Act

In addition to releasing information under the mandatory and authorised proactive release provisions of the GIPA Act, it is also open to DCS to release information outside of the GIPA Act. This is part of a team’s business as usual processes and would be subject to that team’s usual approval processes.

Some business divisions may find it more practical and beneficial to the public to release information publicly outside of the GIPA Act. This policy is not intended to interfere with these usual business practices. However, some of the considerations that apply to the proactive release of information under the GIPA Act may also be relevant to ‘BAU’ releases.

The DCS GIPA team would still like your division to inform them about any notable information released publicly outside of the GIPA Act, to assist with the annual review.
 

2.6 Maintenance of information that has been proactively released

It is good practice for business divisions to keep a record of what they have proactively released and review this twice a year. The business division should consider whether any published information is still relevant and accurate and if it is still considered of interest to the public.

It is the responsibility of the business division that proactively released the information to maintain and review that information and to have that information removed or updated as necessary.