About Information Policy

An important principle underpinning the recent reforms to information law is the notion that government-held information is a national resource.

Information policy is one of the three broad functions that have been conferred on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The source of this function is the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010.

The Information Commissioner reports to the Attorney-General on matters relating to Australian Government information management policy and practice, including freedom of information and privacy.

The Information Commissioner is assisted in this regard by an Information Advisory Committee, comprising senior officers from key agencies and people from outside government who have suitable qualifications or experience.

The Information Commissioner is also a member of the Steering Committee implementing the agreed recommendations of the Government 2.0 Taskforce, and an ex officio member of the Administrative Review Council. More information on Government 2.0 can be found here.

Education and training on the new freedom of information reforms are a key focus of the OAIC. As materials are developed on the government information policy role of the OAIC, they will be posted on this website.

We have also released eight principles on open public sector information following public consultation. The Report on review and development of these principles, released in May 2011, contains eight Principles on open public sector information and together with the Issues paper released in November 2010 and the submissions received can be found on our Information policy reports page.