Our Commissioners

Learn more about our Commissioners below...

Information Commissioner

The Information Commissioner is appointed as an independent office holder under section 4 of the Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIIC Act), and is also the Chief Executive Officer of the IPC. The Information Commissioner is appointed by the Governor of New South Wales and reports directly to the Parliament with oversight by the Joint Parliamentary Committee. This is reported in publicly available documents including the IPC’s annual report.

Mr Chris Clayton is the Acting Information Commissioner; appointed by the Attorney General and the Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government in November 2024.

Chris is on a leave of absence from the NSW Ombudsman’s Office whilst he is Acting Information Commissioner. Chris is Chief Operating Officer / Assistant Ombudsman at the Ombudsman’s Office. His role oversees the enabling functions of the Ombudsman’s Office, including its corporate and governance functions. 

Prior to joining the Ombudsman’s Office, Chris had an extensive career at the Audit Office of NSW, where he held a range of executive positions. This included supporting the Auditor-General to oversee audit quality, provide audit-related technical support, innovate audit practices, and corporate governance functions.

Chris holds a Master of Administrative Law and Policy, Bachelor of Commerce, Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting, and Graduate Certificate in Internal Auditing. He is also a Chartered Accountant.

Salary details

The NSW Information Commissioner's remuneration is published in the IPC's annual report.

Delegation of authority

The Commissioner may delegate the exercise of any function of the Commissioner, under the Instrument of delegation under section 13 of the Government Information (Information Commissioner) 2009 (GIIC Act).

See the Information Commissioner's Instrument of Delegation 

See the IPC CEO - Instrument of Authorisation 

Privacy Commissioner

Sonia Minutillo was appointed as the NSW Privacy Commissioner in March 2025, having served as Acting Privacy Commissioner since August 2023. 

As Privacy Commissioner, her role includes the promotion of public awareness and understanding of privacy rights in NSW, as well as providing information, support, advice and assistance to agencies and the public. The Privacy Commissioner administers the Privacy and Personal Information Protections Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).

Prior to being appointed Privacy Commissioner, she was the Director, Investigation and Reporting at the Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) leading the IPC’s regulatory functions, including the conduct of reviews, complaints, investigations, proactive audits and performance reporting across both information access and privacy legislative regimes. As the Director, Investigation and Reporting, she was also the IPC’s Chief Audit Executive. 

Ms Minutillo has also worked in other senior roles in NSW Government and the non-profit sectors in the fields of industrial relations, and employment rights and obligations under NSW and Commonwealth legislation.

Ms Minutillo holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Wollongong and an Executive Master of Public Administration from Sydney University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management from Flinders University, a Certificate IV in Government Investigations (Regulatory Compliance) and is a Member of the Institute of Company Directors.

Salary details

The Privacy Commissioner's remuneration is published in the IPC's annual report.

Delegation of authority

The Commissioner may delegate the exercise of any function of the Commissioner, under the Instrument of delegation under section 35H of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act).

See the Privacy Commissioner's Instrument of Delegation