Public Access to Information

What is public access to government information?

You have the right to access certain information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). This legislation replaced the former Freedom of Information Act on 1 July 2010.

The objective of the GIPA Act is to make government information more accessible to the public by:

• requiring government agencies to make certain sorts of information freely available,

• encouraging government agencies to proactively release as much other information as possible,

• giving the public an enforceable right to make access applications for government information, and

• restricting access to information only when there is an overriding public interest against disclosure or when otherwise required by law.

Accessing Council information

To promote open, accountable, fair and effective government in NSW, members of the public have a right to access government information. This right is restricted only when there is an overriding public interest against disclosing the particular information.

To view a copy of Council's Information Guide, please CLICK HERE

To view a copy of Council's "Contracts Register" - updated Contracts Register COMING SOON

To download a copy of Council's Disclosure Log please CLICK HERE

There are four ways in which government information is available under the GIPA Act:

1. Mandatory release:

Certain information, referred to as open access information, must be published on the agency's website, free of charge.

2. Proactive release:

Beyond mandatory release, agencies are encouraged (and authorised) to release as much government information as possible.

3. Informal request:

Agencies are encouraged to informally release information, by excusing the need for a formal application (and fee) to be submitted.

Please note the GIPA Act provides no statutory timeframe by which informal requests must be decided within. Council is not required to disclose government information pursuant to an informal request and is also not required to consider an informal request for government information. Council can decide however by what means information is to be released in response to an informal request

To make an informal request please click here

4. Formal application:

This is the last resort if information is not accessible in any of the above 3 ways. Decisions made in response to formal applications can be reviewed.

If information can't be accessed through any of the above avenues, a formal access application can be submitted to Council. Council will request a formal application be made for information only as a last resort, likely necessary if an applicant asks for a large volume of information, if providing access would involve an unreasonable diversion of resources on behalf of Council (i.e. extensive search, retrieval from archives), or if the information sought involves personal or business information about third parties that must be consulted before the information can be released.

To make a formal request please click here

Require further information?

The Information and Privacy Commission oversees public access to government information in NSW. You can find out more about your right to information and ways to access government information on the Information and Privacy Commission website by clicking here

For further information in regards to access to public information, please contact the Information and Privacy Commission NSW on 1800 472 679 or email ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au