Every year Australia celebrates Open Government Week, a global initiative to promote open, transparent and accountable government.
This year the event is celebrated from 18 to 22 May 2026 and marks the 15th anniversary of the Open Government Partnership, a multi-national approach that aims to promote a commitment to greater government transparency.
OIC is once again supporting Open Government Week, drawing attention to the role of technology as an enabler for open government and to Queensland’s Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) which promotes openness and transparency.
People may seek access to information held by government for many reasons, but usually, they seek information that matters to them (for example medical records for themselves or family members) and they are looking for:
- easy, quick and cost-effective access to the information, and
- confidence that the information they receive from government is correct.
Public sector agencies can use technology to facilitate the proactive disclosure of information to the community (for example, publishing data and information on a website or via social media) or to release the information administratively (for example, via an online portal for registered users).
The OIC 2025 report, Audit on responding to access requests for government-held information
As the demand for information increases, the RTI Commissioner Stephanie Winson encourages public sector agencies to adopt a risk informed approach to utilising technology.
“While technology requires investment, the benefits can be significant, improving an agency’s service delivery to Queenslanders and increasing internal efficiency”.
Technology also offers agencies the chance to understand public demand for information through the reporting of online activity, and it can streamline how agencies handle requests for information, through case management, document management and assisted redaction.
The appropriate deployment of technology is a critical enabler of information access and the public sector’s ability to both adapt to, and effectively meet, increasing expectations and demands from society in an efficient manner.