BRR: We're joined by Justin Davidson. He's a Senior Executive Lawyer at Australian Government Solicitor located in Canberra. Justin, a warm welcome to BoardRoom Radio.
JD: Thanks very much, Kate.
BRR: Justin, earlier this year, the former Finance Minister, the Honourable Lindsay Tanner, issued a declaration of openness on behalf of the Government. What are some of the changes, I guess, we're seeing more generally in the information access landscape?
JD: We're seeing a number of reforms which are, I think, generally reflective of this trend towards greater openness in the administration of government. The most significant of those are reforms to the Freedom of Information Act which are due to commence on 1 November this year. From 1 November, there will be a new Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and that office will be established to oversee FOI matters in the Commonwealth. It'll have an educative function, an awareness-raising function, but it will also be responsible for being a first tier of merits review for decisions of agencies, particularly when they're refusing access to documents. Other changes in the FOI space include making it easier for people to make FOI requests, tightening up the circumstances in which agencies can refuse access to documents and, from 1 May next year, encouraging agencies to be proactively publishing information - so, not waiting for the FOI requests, but actually getting information out there in a more proactive kind of way.
BRR: And are these major changes? Is it going to make a huge difference for people trying to get access to information?
JD: I think they are major changes. They've been described by others as the most significant changes since the Act was passed in 1982. I think that's an accurate description. The changes are both at a very broad or high level, such as the introduction of the Australian Information Commissioner which will, I think, drive cultural reform, but also very small or matters-of-detail changes, such as abolishing the fee for making FOI requests, introducing more discipline around the timeframes for answering FOI requests, and making it generally harder in most cases for agencies to refuse access to documents.
BRR: Mmm... well, certainly these changes signify movement in the right direction but, I guess, are there going to be any short-term practical ramifications and how will they be managed?
JD: I think, as with any major reforms, there will be a settling-in period. So, for agencies who manage FOI requests, there's going to be a period of challenge and a period of uncertainty while they get used to the new regime. There are changes to, as I said, managing timeframes; also changes to how they undertake third party consultation and when they need to do that; and changes to the principles governing release of information; and also a proliferation of appeal rights for applicants who are disaffected by decisions. All of this is going to be new and difficult, and I think agencies can expect to be tested fairly early on. There'll be FOI applicants who will be keen to make FOI requests, just to see how they're travelling. So there will be a bit of a settling-in period and I think the best thing agencies can do to handle that is to make sure that they're engaging in awareness-raising in their agencies and educating their decision-makers and other staff about the impact that these changes will have on how they manage their FOI workload.
BRR: And Justin, just as a final question, if we look at the declaration part of this with 3 key principles of informing, engaging and participating, certainly the Government's uptake of Web 2.0 technology indicates an embracing of these ideals. How far do these changes, I guess more generally go, in meeting those principles and what are the likely limits on collaboration?
JD: I think we're seeing a genuine desire from the Government to be innovative about the ways in which it engages with the public. The FOI Act was all about giving people access to information to enable them to be participating effectively in representative democracy, and part of the changes to the FOI Act is an express recognition of this in the objects clause where it talks about the desirability of accountability and also participation in government decision-making. And in the Web 2.0 space, we're certainly seeing agencies using those kind of technologies to engage with the public. I think there's real prospects of more significant engagement with decision-making and greater collaboration between governments and also between the government and its citizenry. There are some limitations, I think, and a significant one, I suppose, is the Cabinet decision-making process. So, in the Commonwealth of Australia, we have a Cabinet that operates on a principle of Cabinet secrecy and Cabinet solidarity, where decisions taken within Cabinet are not open to public discussion in the same sort of a way as decision-making in the Parliament is. While-ever that remains a feature of our democratic model, there will be some limitation on people's access to, and participation in, high-level decision-making -- but at an administrative level there's certainly alot of potential for greater collaboration and I think that the reforms that we are seeing are certainly driving us in that direction.
BRR: Mmm. Well, certainly some interesting insights there, Justin, and thank you for joining us today.
JD: Thank you, Kate.
BRR: That was Justin Davidson, Senior Executive Lawyer at Australian Government Solicitor.