International Access to Information Day

International Access to Information Day (IAID) 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 from 26 – 30 September, exploring the theme: Artificial intelligence, e-Governance and access to information.

OVIC will host a series of events throughout the week and publish new resources for agencies and the public.

Events

Monday 26 September 2022

Launch of IAID 2022 – Public Access Deputy Commissioner’s Address |10am – 11am

Tuesday 27 September 2022

Lightning Talk: OVIC’s role in promoting information access through the FOI Act | 2pm – 2.45pm

Wednesday 28 September 2022

ICON Information Session presented by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) | 9am – 10am

This livestream event is for ICON members and will feature Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary, the Honourable Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Australian Information Commissioner Angelene Falk, Freedom of Information Commissioner Leo Hardiman PSM KC, and Director-General of National Archives of Australia, Simon Froude.

Please note this event is for representatives of Australian Government agencies and ministers. If you are not an ICON member and wish to join the network and attend the event, please email icon@oaic.gov.au

Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland Solomon Lecture: ‘The importance of truth through Aboriginal eyes’. Presented by Ian Hamm, Chair of the Stolen Generations Reference Group at The Healing Foundation | 10.30am – 12pm

Panel discussion: enhancing access to information through smart defaults | 12.30pm – 1.30pm

UNESCO event: The role of e-Governance & Artificial Intelligence in promoting inclusive approaches for Access to Information | 5.00pm – 6.30pm

Thursday 29 September 2022

Lightning Talk: Lost in the Loop: The Limits of a ‘human in the loop’ for AI Governance | 2pm – 2.45pm

Information Access Community Attitudes Study 2022

The 2022 Information Access Community Attitudes Study measures the Victorian community’s awareness of their right to access government information, and their experiences and outcomes in exercising that right.

The research provides a broad insight into citizens’ views and experiences of the right to access information. The 2022 results are consistent with the 2021 and 2019 studies where most respondents felt that the right to access government-held information was very or quite important. Awareness of the right to access government-held information was also consistent with previous years, with the majority of respondents being aware of their rights in relation to information held by at least one of the following agencies.

View the Victorian research findings and our media release.

Introduction to Public Access to Information in Victoria

Victorian public sector (VPS) employees play a critical role in facilitating and upholding a person’s legal right to obtain access to government information.

During IAID, we published a resource to assist new and existing VPS employees to fulfil the object of the FOI Act by providing an introduction to public access to information in Victoria, including freedom of information (FOI) and more broadly, proactive and informal release of information outside the FOI Act.

Read our resource on an Introduction to Public Access to Information in Victoria.

Media

Read an op-ed by Information Commissioner Sven Bluemmel published in the Mandarin on 26 September 2022
Read our media release on the Information Access Community Attitudes Study published on 27 September 2022
Read an article featuring an interview with Public Access Deputy Commissioner Joanne Kummrow published in the Mandarin on 28 September 2022
Read a joint statement made by Information Access Commissioners and Ombudsmen published on 28 September 2022

Resources

Starter pack

Download our starter pack containing all of the resources below in one .zip file including email signature, social media images and the poster.

You can download individual resources below. To save: right click on the image and select “save image”. Alternatively, click on the link, right click on the image in the new browser tab and select “save image”.

Animations