Abstract
In 2010, the Australian Government established a new regulatory agency, the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as part of a major reform of
its information policy framework. Concerns were raised by stakeholders about
the proposed legal and structural arrangements for the Office, but there was
very little consideration of these issues during passage of the reform
legislation through Parliament. This article suggests that the arrangements are
not optimal. They require the OAIC to be both strategic policy advisor and
independent regulator to the Australian Government. This creates a tension in
the roles and responsibilities of the agency. The arrangements also have the
potential to mute the voices of the Privacy and Freedom of Information
Commissioners in the information policy debate. The article concludes that it
would have been better to more clearly establish the commissioners as
independent advocates and “champions” for the human rights to privacy and
freedom of information.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 77-97 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Australian journal of administrative law |
Volume | 21 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |