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Purpose of this strategy

This strategy supports Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) in the application of sections 24 and 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 2016 (FOI Act) as informed by section 4.14 of the Ombudsman’s Open Access Guideline.

The FOI Act requires ACT agencies to routinely publish government information proactively, in accordance with the pro-disclosure objectives of the FOI Act. This is to reduce the need for members of the public to make an access application as a last resort if the information they are seeking is not available online. This strategy outlines how 涩里番will take a proactive approach to providing access to open access information, consistent with the open access obligations outlined in the FOI Act, including:

• what information will be made publicly available
• how it will be made available
• how published information will be reviewed to ensure that it remains accurate, up-to-date and complete
• when information may not be made publicly available because it is contrary to the public interest, and how 涩里番will publish the reasons for these decisions.

Objective

涩里番will identify and publish open access information in a timely manner consistent with the following principles:

• Open access information will be made available to the public, unless it has been assessed as contrary to the public interest to release the information - that is, access to information is the default position from which 涩里番operates
• Information will be assessed for release with a pro-disclosure bias, consistent with the FOI Act
• Open access information will be accurate, up-to-date, and complete
• Open access information will be easily accessible to all members of the public, for example by complying with the web content accessibility guidelines, level AA (available at w3.org), or by being made available in hard copy without charge, on request
• Open access requirements will be considered when documents are created by all 涩里番staff.

Information 涩里番will publish

涩里番will proactively publish the following categories of information unless it is assessed as being contrary to the public interest information:

• Functional information - including CIT’s organisational chart, who we are, what we do, our values and information about our employment conditions, including the current enterprise agreements
• Documents tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly, including our annual reports
• Other reports, including submissions
• Policy documents, including strategies that inform how we do our work, and procedures followed by CIT
• 涩里番disclosure log
• Budget papers
• Information about government grants
• Statements regarding bodies that advise CIT
• Ministerial briefs more than five years old
• Agency undertakings
• Information declared by the ACT Ombudsman to be open access information
• Information prescribed by legislation

What information 涩里番will not release?

Information will not be published by 涩里番where it is contrary to the public interest information, as defined in section 16 of the FOI Act. Such information could include policy documents comprising of law enforcement information that is assessed as being contrary to the public interest (for example, where the information, if disclosed, could prejudice a current investigation or law enforcement methodology or procedures).

If 涩里番is considering not publishing a document, the 涩里番Information Officer with support of the relevant 涩里番business area, must assess whether the information is contrary to the public interest to disclose, considering the FOI Act and the best practice approaches outlined in the ACT Ombudsman FOI guidelines.

If a single document includes both open access information and contrary to the public interest information, 涩里番will, as far as practicable, make the open access information publicly available, with the contrary to the public interest information redacted.

When a decision has been made by 涩里番not to publish information, 涩里番will instead:

• publish a description of the information
• detail why the information is contrary to the public interest
• include a statement outlining review rights

This will apply to documents not released in full, or only released in part.

How 涩里番will assess information for release?

涩里番will proactively identify and assess information that can be published on the 涩里番website.

When producing a document relevant to the work of CIT, the author creating the document should do so in a format and style appropriate for publication as open access information.

Staff awareness and senior executive commitment

This strategy and our approach to open access will be communicated to existing staff via staff induction training, the Intranet and other appropriate internal communication channels. The 涩里番senior executive are committed to open access and will communicate their commitment to staff.

Where and how will 涩里番publish open access information?

Open access information will be published on the 涩里番website and the ACT Government Open Access Information Portal and will comply with the web content accessibility guidelines. The public will also be able to contact 涩里番to request hard copies of open access information.

How 涩里番will keep information up-to-date?

Open access information published on our website will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure it remains current, with more regular updates made to functional information where required. Relevant policies, procedures and guidelines created and updated by 涩里番will also be published as they are reviewed and approved, as will documents tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly.

The 涩里番disclosure log will also be updated as access applications are decided by CIT.

Approved by: 涩里番Information Officer
(Executive Director, 涩里番Corporate Services)
Date: 30 September 2020