sample web pages

The new right to information system requires agencies to make certain information available on their websites. The OIC has created sample content for each of the pages agencies are required to publish.

Please select a link below for the advice you need.

Open access information – advice and examples

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act) requires every agency to make certain government information publicly available. This information is called ‘open access information’ or ‘mandatory release information’. It must be published on an agency’s website, unless to do so would impose unreasonable additional costs. It can also be made available in any other way. At least one of the ways in which an agency makes open access information publicly available must be free of charge.

Open access information includes the following:

  1. a publication guide
  2. information about the agency contained in any document tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of the agency (other than any document tabled by order of either House of Parliament)
  3. policy documents
  4. a disclosure log of access applications
  5. a register of government contracts
  6. the agency’s record of the open access information (if any) that it does not make publicly available on the basis of an overriding public interest against disclosure.

Regulations may prescribe other government information as open access information:

  • government information means information contained in a record held by an agency.
  • record means any document or other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means.

In other words, ‘information’ is much broader than just a document.

Government information is held by an agency if:

  • it is contained in a record held by the agency
  • it is held by a private sector entity and the agency has an immediate right of access to it
  • it is held by the State Records Authority and the agency has an immediate right of access to it
  • it is in the possession or under the control of a person in their capacity as an officer or member of the agency (including information held at home or on a home computer by officers of the agency who work from home).
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Publication guide advice

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act) requires every agency to maintain a publication guide. A publication guide contains information similar to the statement of affairs, published under the Freedom of Information Act 1989.

How to create a publication guide

The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) has produced its own publication guide and has published guidance on how to comply with the GIPA Act requirements.

When is the deadline?

Agencies must publish their first publication guide within six months of the commencement of the GIPA Act, which commenced on 1 July 2010.

Completing the publication guide

The OIC publication guide lists the information that should be included in an agency’s publication guide. It can be used as a model for agencies creating their own publication guides.

The publication guide requires agencies to state how the information may be obtained and whether or not there is a cost for access. The information contained in an agency’s current statement of affairs can be reviewed to inform the publication guide. Agencies should also consider what other kinds of information they hold may be made publicly available.

How should agencies make information available?

Agencies must have systems in place to ensure the information is easily accessible to the public. Agencies with websites can provide a substantial proportion of their information online. Agencies are expected to provide most information in hard copy when asked. In some circumstances, information may only be accessible by inspection.

What charges should apply?

Agencies should ensure that a substantial amount of open access information is freely available to the public. Charges can be made to recover costs for photocopying, postage etc and where the agency has a legal authority to charge. All agencies are expected to publicise a schedule of charges (included in or attached to the guide).

Example publication guide

The OIC's publication guide provides a model for other agencies. To access the publication guide, click here.

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Documents tabled in Parliament

Information about the agency contained in any document tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of the agency (other than any document tabled by order of either House of Parliament) needs to be listed on an agency's website.

Policy documents

Policies that may affect or have an impact on members of the public, are to be listed on an agency's website.

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Disclosure log

What is a disclosure log?

A disclosure log is a record containing details of government information already released under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). A disclosure log is part of the open access information that agencies are required to make publicly available.

What is the purpose of a disclosure log?

Disclosure logs provide access to information for people who want the same or similar information as previous applicants, and would otherwise have to make formal access applications. A disclosure log also helps an agency to identify information that could be proactively released.

What information is required to be kept in the disclosure log?

The disclosure log must contain the following details:

  • the date that the access application was decided
  • a description of the information provided
  • whether any of the information is now publicly available and, if so, how it can be accessed.

The disclosure log does not have to include the following information:

  • information on applications for personal information regarding the applicant
  • information about applications where factors involving the applicant were a consideration in whether or not the disclosure of the information was in the public interest.

When is information entered into the disclosure log?

Details are entered into the disclosure log when the access application has been decided, and any review time limits have expired.

How can government information listed in the disclosure log be accessed?

Documents could be accessible by a link in the disclosure log. If documents or material cannot be uploaded, the agency should provide details on how to obtain this information.

Example disclosure log

To access the example disclosure log, click here.

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Register of government contracts advice

The GIPA Act requires government agencies (including local councils) to record and publish certain information about some contracts with private sector bodies.

Part 3, Division 5 of the GIPA Act states that information about contracts worth more than $150,000 between agencies and private sector bodies must be recorded in a register of government contracts.

That register must be published on the agency’s website, and made public in any other way that the agency decides to make its open access information available.

Contracts that must be included in the government contracts register are those:

  • between an agency and a private sector contractor
  • signed after 1 January 2007 or, for local councils and state-owned corporations, after the commencement of the GIPA Act
  • for a value of $150,000 or more, and involve:
    • the contractor undertaking a specific project such as construction, infrastructure or property development
    • the contractor agreeing to provide specific goods or services
    • the transfer or lease of real property.

Employment contracts do not need to be included in the register.

Different classes of contracts

The Act provides for three different classes of contracts, each with different information requirements.

Class 1 contracts are those that have, or are likely to have, a value of $150,000. Agencies must enter the following information about class 1 contracts into the register of government contracts within 60 days of the contract becoming effective:

  • the name and address of the private sector contractor
  • details of any related company that may be involved in carrying out the contractual obligations
  • the date the contract became effective and its duration
  • the particulars of the project or goods or services to be provided under the contract
  • the estimated amount payable to the contractor and any allowable variations to that amount
  • any renegotiation provisions
  • the method of tendering and criteria for assessment, if appropriate
  • any provisions for payment to the contractor for operational or maintenance services.

Class 2 contracts are class 1 contracts where:

  • there has not been a public tender process and the terms and conditions of the contract have been negotiated directly with the contractor, or
  • the contract was the subject of a tender (whether public or not) but the terms and conditions have been substantially negotiated with the contractor
  • the obligations of one or more parties to maintain or operate infrastructure or assets
  • could continue for 10 years or more, and the contract involves a privately financed project (as defined by Treasury) or the exchange of significant assets.

In addition to the requirements for class 1 contracts, class 2 contracts require the following information to be entered in the register:

  • particulars of any future transfer of significant assets to and from the agency
  • the results of any cost-benefit analysis
  • particulars of how risk will be apportioned, if relevant particulars of any significant guarantees or undertakings between the parties
  • any other key elements of the contract (see section 30).

If a class 2 contract has a value, or likely value of more than $5 million, it becomes a class 3 contract. Agencies must publish a copy of a class 3 contract on the register of government contracts.

What information is protected?

Agencies do not have to publish in the register of government contracts, the following confidential information:

  • the commercial-in-confidence provisions of a contract
  • details of any unsuccessful tender
  • any matter that could reasonably be expected to affect public safety or security
  • any information where there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.

Commercial-in-confidence provisions of a contract refer to information which:

  • would reveal the contractor’s financing arrangements, financial modelling, cost structure or profit margins
  • could place the contractor at a substantial commercial disadvantage in present or future dealings with the agency, or
  • would disclose any intellectual property in which the contractor has an interest.

How long must the information be included in the register?

Information about government contracts must be included in the register within 60 days of the contract becoming effective (s.27(2)).

Section 34 of the GIPA Act requires information, including a copy of a contract, to be included in the government contracts register for either 30 days, or until the obligations under the contract have been satisfied, whichever is the longer period.

Where should the register of government contracts be published?

Each agency’s register of government contracts will be publicly available:

  • on the NSW Government tenders website, with the exception of universities, local and county councils and state-owned corporations, and/or
  • from the agency itself, either on its website or in some other format.

Example register of government contracts

To access the example register of government contracts, click here.

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Open access information not disclosed due to an overriding public interest against disclosure

Under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act), when deciding whether or not to release information, government agencies must consider whether there is an overriding public interest against releasing the information.

For more information on how to apply the public interest test when determining whether or not to release information, refer to the knowledge update on this topic from the Office of the Information Commissioner website.

Agencies are required to provide a record of the open access information that it does not make available to the public on the basis of an overriding public interest against disclosure.

Example of open access information not disclosed due to an overriding public interest against disclosure

To access an example of open access information not disclosed due to an overriding public interest against disclosure, click here.

PLEASE NOTE: Section 6(5) does not apply to applications for access to information. This section relates to information that ought to be publicly released but for the overriding public interest against disclosure.

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