Information Publication Scheme agency plan

Introduction

The Australian of Criminology (the AIC) is an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and is required to comply with the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requirements. This agency plan describes how the AIC proposes to do this, as required by s 8(1) of the FOI Act.

The AIC is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and justice. The AIC seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice.

The AIC was established in 1973 under the Criminology Research Act 1971.

The functions of the AIC set out under section 6 of the Criminology Research Act  include conducting criminological research (paragraph 6(a)(i)); communicating the results of research to the Commonwealth and others (paragraph 6(a)(ii)); assisting the Director in performing the Director’s functions including conducting or arranging conferences and seminars (subsection 6(a)); and administering programs for awarding grants and engaging specialists for criminological research and activities related to that research including publishing material arising out of the AIC's work (subsection 6(c).

Purpose

The Plan describes how the AIC proposes to implement and administer its IPS entry in respect of its own information holdings, by addressing:

• establishing and administering the AIC's IPS entry
• information architecture
• information required to be published
• other information to be published
• IPS compliance review

Objectives

The key objectives in the Plan are to outline appropriate mechanisms and procedures to:

• manage the IPS information holdings
• proactively identify and publish all information required to be published (s 8(2))
• proactively identify and publish any other information to be published (s 8(4))
• ensure regular review and assurance that information published under the IPS is accurate, up-to-date and complete FOI Act (s 8B) 
• ensure that information published under the IPS can be readily accessed, is easily discoverable, understandable, machine-readable, re-useable and transformable 
• ensure that the format of online content conforms with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines; and
• measure the success of the AIC’s IPS contribution by reference to community feedback and compliance review processes
• adopt best practice initiatives in implementing and administering the AIC's contribution to the IPS.

Administering the AIC’s IPS 

The Director and their staff all have a role in complying with the requirements of the FOI Act.

The Deputy Director is the senior officer and has overall responsibility for the AIC’s compliance with the FOI Act. This includes the establishment and maintenance of the Information Publication Scheme.

The Library and Information Services Manager has day-to-day responsibility for managing the AIC’s compliance with the FOI Act by ensuring that information held on the AIC’s website, is accessible, meets Government standards, is kept up to date, and that any broken links are corrected as quickly as possible.

The Deputy Director is the AIC's Freedom of Information (FOI) Coordinator in cooperation with the ACIC's Freedom of Information team and is responsible for managing the AIC’s responses to individual requests for access to information under the FOI Act.

IPS information architecture

The IPS entry is published on the AIC website (www.aic.gov.au) under the following headings:

Required information

• Agency plan (s 8(2)(a))
• Who we are (ss 8(2)(b) and 8(2)(d))
• What we do (ss 8(2)(c) and 8(2)(j))
• Our reports and responses to Parliament (ss 8(2)(e) and 8(2)(h))
• Routinely requested information and disclosure log (ss 8(2)(g) and 11C)
• Consultation arrangements (s 8(2)(f))
• Contact us (s 8(2)(i))

Other information

• Our priorities (s 8(4))
• Our finances (s 8(4))
• Our lists (s 8(4))
• Our submissions (s 8(4))
• Our policies (s 8(4))

Information required to be published under the IPS

Required Information

Agency IPS plan

Who we are

This will include an organisation chart, the Criminology Research Act 1971, the Agency Employment Agreement and information about statutory appointments.

• For statutory appointees, the AIC will publish the name of the person appointed, the length or term of appointment, the position to which the person is appointed (and particulars of the position) and the provision of the Act under which the person is appointed.

What we do

This will outline the functions and decision-making powers of the Director. The AIC will also publish policies and guidelines relating to these functions and powers.

Our reports and responses to Parliament

This will include the full text of the AIC’s recent annual reports tabled in Parliament.

Routinely requested information and FOI disclosure log

This will include information in documents to which the AIC routinely gives access in response to FOI requests.

The AIC will clearly identify these documents in its disclosure log, published under s 11C of the FOI Act.

Consultation arrangements

The AIC is not a policy agency and is not involved in creating government policy. Therefore there are no arrangements in place for members of the public to comment on specific policy proposals.

Contact us

This will include the name, telephone number and an email address for a contact officer, who can be contacted about access to the AIC’s information or documents under the FOI Act. The AIC will establish generic telephone numbers and email addresses for this purpose that will not change with staff movements.

Other information to be published under the IPS

The AIC will publish on the IPS section of its website other information that it holds (in addition to the information published under s 8(2)), taking into account the objects of the FOI Act (s 8(4)).

Other information

Our priorities

This will include research and strategic plans.

Our finances

This will include financial information relating to salary scales, procurement procedures, tendering and contracts.

Our lists

This will include the agency grants and appointments, and links to data sets.

Our submissions

This will include submissions made by the AIC to Parliamentary committees, the Productivity Commissioner, the Australian Law Reform Commission and other agencies.

Our policies

This will include relevant AIC corporate policies.

IPS compliance review

Annual Review by AIC

The AIC will conduct an in-house review of its compliance with the Information Publication Scheme on an annual basis.  The Deputy Director Corporate is responsible for this review.   Each review aims to identify gaps in information, any operational difficulties that were experienced during the year (e.g. website downtime) and how they were addressed, lessons learned from previous reporting periods, and recommendations for improving or maintaining the AIC’s commitment to the Information Publication Scheme. The AIC will advise the community on when a review has been undertaken, and what information has been added or updated, via its Information Publication Scheme webpage. 

Formal review in conjunction with the Information Commissioner

The AIC will review the operation of its IPS from time to time and at least every five years, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner about IPS compliance review (better practice guidance material to assist agencies to comply with the IPS to be published in the Information Commissioner’s regulatory capacity).

Performance measurement

The AIC notes that the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will provide guidance to assist agencies to undertake compliance reviews.  The AIC will adopt that guidance to the fullest extent possible.  In addition, the AIC will assess the balance of ‘required’ and ‘optional’ information it publishes, with an expectation that optional information will increase over time.

The AIC will adopt the following criteria for measuring its performance:

Annexure A
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