Events and Education

OVIC regularly hosts a range of free face to face and webinars and events to assist Victorian public sector (VPS) staff and the public understand their rights and responsibilities in relation to how the public sector collects, uses and discloses information.

Face to face events

When advised it is safe to do so, OVIC will return to offering face to face seminars and workshops on freedom of information, privacy and information security. Please take a look at the event information, to see if the session you are interested in is available to VPS staff only, or open to the public.

See below for a list of upcoming events and details on how to register.

OVIC offers free monthly training webinars for VPS staff in relation to the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act) and the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (FOI Act).

Introduction to Information Privacy and The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014

This training has been developed to provide VPS staff guidance on interpreting information privacy, the PDP Act, and a detailed understanding of each stage of the information lifecycle.

Administering the Freedom of Information Act 1982

This training has been developed to provide VPS staff with a general understanding of the FOI Act and guide them through how to process a FOI request.

Register to one of the upcoming training sessions below or read more information about OVIC’s training.

To make our events more accessible to a wider audience across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria we have increased our virtual training and events offerings. We deliver free webinars on freedom of information, privacy and information security.

Please take a look at the event information, to see if the session you are interested in is available to VPS staff only, or open to the public.

See below for a list of upcoming webinars and details on how to register.

OVIC offers a range of free eLearning modules available to VPS staff and the public on our online learning portal.

Our online learning portal hosts the following modules:

Privacy

• Introduction to privacy in the Victorian public sector;
• Privacy Impact Assessments; and
• Managing the privacy impacts of data breaches.

Freedom of Information

• Processing a request;
• Professional Standards;
• Introduction to the exemptions in Part IV of the FOI Act;
• Section 30;
• Section 32;
• Section 33;
• Section 34;
• Section 35; and
• Section 38.

To log in and complete one of the above Online Learning modules please visit OVIC’s online learning portal.

We regularly publish presentations and resources generated by OVIC’s events or our education programs. You can view recorded presentations, forums and other events on our Vimeo channel.

View speeches from our Commissioners below.

2021

Victorian Privacy Network meeting | 11 November 2021

IAS: Breaking down culture of FOI – Opportunities for change | 29 September 2021

International Access to Information Day 2021 – Commissioner’s Address | 27 September 2021

2020

International Access to Information Day 2020 – Commissioner’s Address | 27 September 2020

2019

Faculty of Law, University of Wellington – Automatic Facial Recognition Technology: legal and ethical issues | 20 October 2019

Victorian Privacy Network meeting – Cloud services | 9 October 2019

City of Kingston Right to Know Day Forum – Keynote address | 26 September 2019

OVIC VPS Graduate Presentation | 16 July 2019

Australian & New Zealand Parliamentary Information Technology Forum- Presentation | 10 January 2019

2018

Victoria’s new FOI and Privacy Regime – The first 12 months – Keynote address | 7 December 2018

AI – Protective Security in Government Conference | 14 August 2018

Cybersecurity, Privacy and Big Data – Opening remarks – UNSW | 17 July 2018

LIV Government Lawyers Conference – Keynote address | 22 June 2018

Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards 2018 – Keynote | 3 May 2018

Leadership in Information Rights in Victoria – The National Public Sector Managers and Leaders Conference | 22 March 2018

Information access & privacy, data protection and sharing – A new approach for modern government | 27 February 2018

2017

Driving change in FOI, privacy and data protection – Leo Cussen FOI & Privacy Conference | 30 November 2017