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What is the information publication scheme?
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 establishes an Information Publication Scheme (IPS) for Australian Government agencies. The IPS requires agencies to publish a broad range of information on their websites.
The IPS requires each agency to prepare and publish a plan showing:
- what information the agency proposes to publish for the purposes of the IPS
- how and to whom the agency proposes to publish that information
- how the agency otherwise proposes to comply with the IPS.
Information we must publish
The IPS also requires each agency to publish certain other kinds of information.
- Structure of the Administrative Review Tribunal
- Functions and powers
- Statutory appointments – details of appointments to the Tribunal made under statutes, including the name of the person appointed, the term of appointment, the position to which the person is appointed, and the enactment under which the person is appointed
- Annual reports
- Consultation arrangements – information for members of the public to comment on current proposals for changes to our practices and procedures
- Information routinely accessed under FOI and FOI disclosure log
- Information routinely provided to Parliament:
- Contracts list
- Indexed list of files
- Freedom of Information contact details
- Operational information the Tribunal uses to perform or exercise its functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public. We have published our practice directions, guides and guidelines.
Optional information
Our agency plan
The Administrative Review Tribunal (the Tribunal) is an agency subject to the FOI Act.
The Tribunal is required to comply with the FOI Act's Information Publication Scheme (IPS). The IPS will help promote an open and transparent culture across Government which recognises that Government information is a national resource to be managed for public purposes.
The purpose of this Agency Plan is to comply with section 8(1) of the FOI Act by showing:
- what information the Tribunal will publish for the purposes of the IPS
- how, and to whom, that information will be published
- how the Tribunal will otherwise comply with the requirements of the IPS.
This Agency Plan will assist the Tribunal in planning and developing its contribution to the IPS, including putting procedures in place to proactively disclose information in accordance with the objects of the FOI Act.
The objectives of this Agency Plan are to outline appropriate mechanisms and procedures for the Tribunal to:
- manage information relevant to the IPS
- proactively identify and publish all information that must be published
- proactively identify and publish additional information in accordance with principles of open government
- review published information on a regular basis to ensure it is accurate, up-to-date and complete
- ensure the Tribunal’s online content conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.1)
- measure the success of the Tribunal’s implementation of the IPS.
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for leading the Tribunal’s compliance with the IPS.
Establishment and administration
The Tribunal has taken the following steps in establishing an IPS:
- We have formed an IPS working group.
- Consultation has occurred with other agencies and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner about their approach to the IPS.
- We have developed this plan.
- Documents have been identified, that must be published under the IPS and other documents have been selected for publication under the IPS.
- A register of IPS documents has been created.
- We have reviewed information on our website to ensure that it conforms to WCAG 2.1.
- We have updated our website structure to be more accessible.
- We have created dedicated web pages for IPS information.
The Tribunal proposes to take the following further steps in establishing and administering the IPS:
- Publish IPS documents that are accurate, up-to-date and complete on our website.
- Continue to update IPS documents and publish accurate, up-to-date and complete documents on our website.
- Consider what access charges, if any, should be imposed for providing IPS documents in hard copy, and publish details about any such charges on our website.
- Ensure this plan and the register of IPS documents are updated on a regular basis, including considering whether any newly created or amended documents should be added to the register and published.
- Ensure that all documents published on our website continue to conform to WCAG 2.1
- Monitor the usage of IPS-related pages of our website and evaluate the effectiveness of those pages.
- Respond to feedback from members of the public and government agencies about the information published under the IPS.
Review
The Tribunal will review and, where necessary, revise this Agency Plan at least annually. Part of this review will be to ensure all published documents remain accurate, up-to-date and complete.
With the assistance of the Information Commissioner, we will undertake a review of the operation of the IPS in the Tribunal within 5 years of the commencement of the IPS, as required by section 9 of the FOI Act.
The Tribunal will publish information to members of the public on its website. The information published under the IPS will be accessible through an 'Access to information' logo on the website’s homepage.
Where possible, the information will be published in HTML and Portable Document Format (PDF).
The Tribunal will publish the following information:
Information that must be published
- Agency plan - this plan
- Structure - an organisational chart, showing the structure of the Tribunal
- Functions and powers - details of the functions and powers of the Tribunal
- Statutory appointments - details of appointments to the Tribunal made under statutes, including the name of the person appointed, the term of appointment, the position to which the person is appointed, and the enactment and provision under which the person is appointed
- Annual reports - full text of current and recent previous annual reports tabled in Parliament
- Consultation arrangements - information about how and to whom members of the public may comment on specific policy proposals for which the Tribunal is responsible
- Information routinely accessed under FOI and FOI disclosure log - details of information disclosed under FOI requests
- Information routinely provided to Parliament - information that the Tribunal routinely provides to Parliament in response to requests and orders from Parliament. This includes:
- indexed list of files provided to Parliament published in compliance with the Continuing Order of the Senate
- list of contracts published in compliance with the Senate Order on agency and departmental contracts.
- FOI contact officer details - contact details for officers who can be contacted about access to the Tribunal’s information or documents
- Operational information - information the Tribunal uses to assist it in performing or exercising its functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public. This includes documents such as:
- practice directions, guides and guidelines
- lists with information about the Tribunal's jurisdictions, time limits for applying for review and secrecy provisions
- relevant parts of manuals produced by the Tribunal, including templates for standard letters and orders.
Optional information
The Tribunal will also publish information that may be of interest to members of the public and users of the Tribunal, including:
- forms
- fact sheets
- our service charter
- statistics
- information about Tribunal decisions
- corporate information about the Tribunal
- information that must be published under other laws and requirements.
Under the Privacy Act 1988 we are also required to publish a Privacy impact assessment register.