Association of Information Access Commissioners of Australia and New Zealand Communiqué – 29 & 30 April 2026
The Association of Information Access Commissioners (AIAC), comprising Information Commissioners and Ombudsmen from Australia and New Zealand, held their bi-annual meeting in Sydney from 29–30 April 2026. Responsive to the operation of differing laws enshrining the right to access information, the meetings provide the opportunity to facilitate and encourage cooperation between officers in Australia and New Zealand who perform similar functions under access to information legislation in each jurisdiction.
The meeting was preceded by a morning tea at Government House, Sydney, where Her Excellency the Hon Margaret Beazley AC KC recalled words of James Madison, the 4th President of the United States that,
A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with power that knowledge gives.1
The meeting, held at the offices of the Information and Privacy Commission NSW, shared insights across eight Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand, discussing highlights, challenges and opportunities as overseers of the information access legislation in each jurisdiction, and champions of the right of members of the public to access government information and the responsibility of government agencies to provide it.
Commissioners shared ideas for innovation and best practice across a broad range of thematic areas: to assist agencies from a ‘we can’t’ to a ‘we can’ culture; to lift leadership recognition of the important role of Freedom of Information (FOI) and Right to Information (RTI) officers in upholding the integrity values of the public service; to promote the economic argument for proactive release of government information; to enhance communication with members of the public to raise awareness about the right to access information; and about how to utilise AI tools beneficially and in conjunction with a human interface to improve timeliness and manage public expectations. Commissioners also advanced their discussion of translating all the jurisdictional differences into common terminology to facilitate effective comparative data analysis.
A key outcome of the meeting was agreeing to a common icon for information access to act as a visual signpost for access to government information across all Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand. In providing this icon and facilitating adoption, Commissioners are seeking to support agencies as they, in turn better serve the community through a single point of access to information.
AIAC members call upon public sector leaders to champion:
- the importance of proactively providing access to government-held information
- the role of FOI and RTI officers in serving the integrity value of public sector agencies
- the use of the information access icon as an access point for government information.
Endorsements of this Communiqué are as follows:
- Commonwealth
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- New Zealand
- James Madison, “Letter to William T Barry, Aug. 4, 1822”, quoted in Abigail Ruth, Freedom of Information and Open Government: Background Paper No.3, 2000, p.13, Parliament of NSW website, available here.