International Access to Information Day

International Access to Information Day (IAID) (formerly Right to Know Day) is celebrated annually on 28 September to raise awareness of the importance of open government, and the public’s right to access government-held information.

This right to access information held by government is essential for transparent and accountable government in a democratic society, by promoting and facilitating greater public participation and scrutiny, and supporting better decision-making.

OVIC will celebrate IAID for an entire week in 2020, exploring the theme: Building trust through transparency.

28 September – 2 October 2020

Monday 28 September

Opening address and presentation – OVIC will commence the week long celebrations by hosting a webinar including an opening address from the Victorian Information Commissioner, Sven Bluemmel, and a message from Victorian Attorney-General, The Hon. Jill Hennessy.

You can watch the session here.

Open Government Partnership (OGP) webinar – the OGP will host a webinar to showcase and explore the commitment to public’s right to access government-held information and the importance of that right in promoting open government.

Tuesday 29 September

AI Transparency in Digital Government – OVIC will participate in a panel discussion hosted by Information Governance ANZ with Information and Privacy Commission New South Wales. Victorian Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel, NSW Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd and Senior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge Dr Jat Singh will discuss the right to access information and the use of algorithms in government decision-making.

You can watch the session here.

Wednesday 30 September

Information Access Series (IAS) – OVIC will host a special IAS webinar featuring a panel discussion on best practices in providing information and negotiating positive outcomes with applicants. This session will also explore the potential for proactive disclosure of information to achieve positive outcomes. These monthly sessions are for FOI practitioners in the VPS.

Thursday 1 October & Friday 2 October

In celebration of International Access to Information Day, and to show our support for the importance of open government, OVIC will release animations for Victorian government agencies about access to information, and proactive and informal release. These videos will be made available to download. We will also publish new guidance for members of the public on exemptions and FOI requests.

Video/animated resources

Understand ways FOI officers can promote access to information

Understand ways Victorian public sector staff can help promote access to information

What’s going on internationally and in other jurisdictions around Australia?

Monday 28 September

Webinar by the Open Government Partnership (NSW) – a panel discussion on the ‘Open by Design’ concept, which promotes a government-wide commitment to develop principles to support/guide a consistent approach to the proactive release of information held by government or used in the provision of traditional government.

International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) released a statement discussing the importance and relevance of IAID. You can read it here.

Tuesday 29 September

Accessing government documents in WA – a live online FOI briefing for advocates seeking to understand how best to use the FOI Act to access government information for their clients.

Wednesday 30 September

Information Access and Local Government in WA – a live webinar featuring a discussion between Catherine Fletcher, the WA Information Commissioner and Local Government leaders about the importance, role and challenges of information access in Local Government.

Thursday 1 October

Comparing the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ approaches of FOI and RTI legislation (WA) – a live webinar featuring a discussion between Catherine Fletcher, the WA Information Commissioner, Rachael Rangihaeata, the Queensland Information Commissioner and Louisa Lynch, the Queensland Right to Information Commissioner about ‘push’ and ‘pull’ models of FOI and RTI legislation.