Strategic review report of OIC released
The Final Report on the Independent Strategic Review of the Office of the Information Commissioner 2022 was tabled in Parliament on 31 January 2023 by The Honourable Shannon Fentimann, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.
Information Commissioner Rangihaeata welcomes the report, its findings and recommendations.
The Independent Reviewer, Mr Dominic McGann, commenced this review in July 2022 immediately after Professor Coaldrake’s Final Report of the review of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector, titled Let the Sunshine in. The Report draws important connections between the Coaldrake Report findings and our role and the objectives of the legislation more broadly.
In terms of this strategic review, it concerns itself with the broad (notably, whether in the performance of its overall functions, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) contributes to ensuring openness and accountability within the Queensland Government) and the particular (notably, whether in the performance of its day to day operations, the OIC is discharging them economically, effectively and efficiently).
The Review Report made very positive findings about OIC’s efficiency and effectiveness across our functions, within a constrained and changing operating environment, including legislative framework, technology, unreasonable conduct and resources.
The Review Report concludes:
- Additional resources need to be provided to ensure that the OIC can continue to deliver the high degree of professional work in the performance of its functions and so that the Queensland government agencies can properly perform their responsibilities to transparency under the Right to Information and Information Privacy Acts
- It is essential that further resources be provided to OIC and agencies to enable each to properly perform increased functions after the legislative review amendments are made, to ensure the Queensland community is to be able to fully exercise the rights related to access to information and information privacy
- In terms of timing of receipt of additional and adequate resources, delay is the deadliest form of denial.
