Media release: Follow-up audit report – Bundaberg Regional Council
Queensland’s Office of the Information Commissioner’s (OIC) follow-up audit report of Bundaberg Regional Council was tabled in Parliament today (11 May 2021).
This report presents the progress Bundaberg Regional Council made in implementing 12 recommendations for improving compliance with the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld).
OIC found that the council has undertaken a substantial body of work in a relatively short time frame to improve its right to information and privacy practices.
In the original audit, OIC made 12 recommendations which the council supported. Bundaberg Regional Council has fully or technically implemented ten recommendations and is in progress to implementing two recommendations.
Information Commissioner Rachael Rangihaeata said, “I am pleased that the council has implemented most of our recommendations to improve right to information and privacy practices, and is progressing the remainder.”
“This helps increase community trust and confidence in the council’s accountability, transparency and safeguards for personal information.”
Key findings
Bundaberg Regional Council has:
- developed an information governance framework and assigned responsibility for driving right to information and privacy outcomes
- introduced a network of information management champions and regular refresher training in right to information and privacy to raise staff awareness and improve practices
- tailored collection notices so that individuals can understand why Council is collecting the personal information, how it will use it and whether it will share it with another entity
- improved how it operates and manages its surveillance cameras, particularly in its partnership with the Queensland Police Service
- promoted the existing administrative access arrangements, and established a system for maintaining the accuracy and currency of the publication scheme.
The council is progressing the implementation of:
- improved performance measures to monitor progress in achieving the broader objectives of the Acts
- an information asset register to support better right to information practices.
Media contact: Steve Haigh
Phone: 3234 7373