The public’s attitude towards access to Government information has been uncovered in a cross-jurisdictional study from the ACT’s Acting Ombudsman and four State Commissioners for Information.
A/Ombudsman, Penny McKay joined the Commissioners from NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia to release the findings of their Information Access Study 2021 and sign a joint statement.
In signing the statement, Ms McKay said the results of the Study highlighted the importance the community placed on the right to access Government information and the duty of Governments to promote and enable that significant right.
Ms McKay said the Study was the second conducted by the group and provided a broad insight into citizens’ views and experiences of the right to access information.
“The valuable insights provided in this second cross-jurisdictional survey involving four Australian States and the ACT will assist in building a better understanding of information access frameworks,” Ms McKay said.
“It reinforces commitments under the Open Government National Action Plans to better measure and understand the value citizens place on the right to access information, and their experiences and outcomes,” she said.
“The results will assist Information Access Commissioners and the ACT Ombudsman to encourage Governments to promote access to Government-held information.”
Ms McKay said the Study found that on average, three in 10 respondents had contacted at least one Government Agency in the past three years to obtain information.
The Ombudsman said citizens were generally able to obtain the Government information they sought, with success rates in each jurisdiction ranging from 61 to 88 per cent.
“This year, a number of jurisdictions also took the opportunity to ask respondents two questions regarding Government’s increased use of data, algorithms and other forms of artificial intelligence to inform decisions,” she said.
Ms McKay said the majority of respondents (75 to 86 per cent) in the surveyed jurisdictions agreed that Agencies should be required to publicly report on artificial intelligence used to inform decisions that impacted individuals.
She said the majority of respondents (80 to 86 per cent) also agreed that Agencies should publicly report on the information they maintained.
Along with Ms McKay, the joint statement was also signed by NSW Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd; Victorian Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel; Queensland Information Commissioner Rachael Rangihaeata; and Western Australian Information Commissioner Catherine Fletcher.
The research findings of the Information Access Study 2021 can be accessed at this PS News link.
