Shadow attorney general says stance creates barrier to transparency by making it harder for citizens to access official documents

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The New South Wales government has made the “absurd” claim that it should not be forced to accept freedom of information requests electronically because “not all NSW government agencies have the ability to accept electronic applications”.

The state government’s stance has prompted accusations it is deliberately erecting barriers to transparency and accessibility by making it harder for citizens to access official documents.

In most jurisdictions, governments are compelled to accept FOI requests via email.

But in NSW, the government has resisted calls that government agencies be forced to accept electronic lodgements through the state’s Government Information (Public Access) Act scheme, known as Gipa.

NSW law requires that requests be lodged “in writing sent by post to or lodged at an office of the agency”.

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It was not until last year that the law was amended to give government agencies the option to accept electronic requests for documents, if they so wished. Government agencies retained the right to require snail mail or in-person lodgement.

NSW Department of Justice officials were questioned last month on why they had not fully embraced electronic requests by making it mandatory for agencies to accept them. In response to a question on notice, the government last week said:

“Not all NSW government agencies currently have the ability to accept electronic applications, so it is appropriate that a discretion exist at this time.”

The shadow attorney general, Paul Lynch, said that statement was “obviously absurd in today’s world”.

“Failing to accept applications electronically is just one more barrier to accessible and transparent government – and that’s the reason they do it: to make it that bit harder to make applications,” he said.

“The government is happy to support access to information – providing there’s not too much of it.”

Before the 2018 Gipa amendments, a Department of Justice report revealed some government agencies feared that electronic lodgement might result in them being inundated with requests.

“We appreciate that some agencies have concerns that allowing electronic lodgement may result in a substantial increase in the number of applications being made, the processing of which may result in adverse effects of agency resources,” the report said.

“While we acknowledge this concern, we consider that an amendment … to allow but not compel agencies to accept electronically lodged access applications will mitigate against this.”

In other areas, NSW compels electronic lodgement of forms to government agencies. Applications to renew justices of the peace licences must be done online, despite genuine issues with computer literacy among some applicants.

The NSW information commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd, championed the need for electronic lodgement in her most recent report on the operation of the state’s Gipa scheme.

“It is opportune to reiterate my support for electronic lodgement. It provides advantages for timeliness and quality of decision making, including instructive guidance to ensure that applications are valid upon lodgement and efficiencies that remove duplication and enable agencies to process applications effectively, as well as supporting the timely outcomes required under the Gipa Act,” she wrote.

“Notwithstanding amendments to the Gipa Act that remove the requirement for the Information Commissioner to approve additional facilities to make applications, agencies are encouraged to consult with the IPC to ensure that these facilities comply with the legislative requirements and are accessible to citizens.”