2023-24 GIPA Act Report tabled in Parliament

 
The NSW Information Commissioner’s thirteenth annual Report on the Operation of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act): 2023-24 (‘the Report’) has been tabled in the NSW Parliament.

The Report is a comprehensive assessment of the operation of the right to information legislation in NSW and examines the performance of over 270 public sector agencies. It provides important guidance to policymakers and agency heads and promotes greater transparency for the people of NSW.

The Report notes:

• The number of valid applications received by agencies continue to increase, with access applications increasing a further 12% from 24,476 in 2022-23 to a new record of 27,485 in 2023-24. 
• Consistent with previous years, the Government sector continued to account for the majority (84%, or 23,091 applications). Notably, there was a 112% increase in applications received by the Department of Education. 
• Information release outcomes for members of the public, Members of parliament, and media increased significantly by 16%, 15% and 51% respectively compared with the prior year. 
• Information release outcomes for applications that sought partly personal and partly other information continues to increase significantly to 6,897 compared with 5,255 in 2022-23. This reflects a 277% increase between 2019-20 to 2023-24. 
• Overall information ‘release rates’ remain stable, including across information types and by applicant type. 
• Overall, while decision review rates have remained stable in most sectors, the volume of external reviews by the Information Commissioner as percentage of all reviews conducted declined moderately to 34%. 
• Review of decisions where the Information Commissioner recommended that agencies reconsider their decisions moderately declined to 39%. 
• Internal reviews as a percentage of all reviews increased moderately to 52% this year compared to 44% in 2022-23. 
• Compliance with Open Access requirements is relatively stable at 77% compliance based on the IPC’s desktop audit. This is broadly consistent with 73% in 2022-23. 
• Compliance with additional Open Access requirements by government departments is improving but still low, particularly for the first three requirements in relation to:
  • major assets and acquisitions;
  • the total number and value of properties disposed of during the previous financial year; and 
  • the department’s guarantee of service. 
• 2023-24 is the first reporting year since the GIPA Regulation was amended, that requires agencies administering grant schemes to make certain information about those grants publicly available. The IPC encountered difficulties in conducting a desktop audit and will explore additional mechanisms for monitoring compliance. 
• Agency reviews of programs for authorised proactive release of government information has declined; reducing from 91% of agencies in 2022-23 to 81% in 2023-24. Overall release of additional information following a review has also declined across all sectors. 
• This reporting year, the IPC included additional questions in the IPC GIPA Tool for agencies to voluntarily provide information on the annual review of their proactive release programs. 

Read more in the IPC’s Media Release.