Access to Council Information (GIPA Act)

Government Information (Public Access Act) 2009

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) provides community members access to information held by State Government departments also local and public authorities. This Act aims to make more information available to all sectors of the community with a view to achieving more open, accountable, fair and transparent government.

Ways in which the public can access government information

Under the GIPA Act, a person seeking access to Council information has a right to be provided with access unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.

Access to government information may be exercised in four ways:

1. Mandatory release (Open Access)

The following publications constitute open access information by Council:

• Agency Information Guide - provides the community with details of what types of information are publicly available to members of the public, how to access government information and how to be involved in Council's decision making processes.
• Council policies 
• Disclosure log of formal access applications where in Council's opinion the information released may be of interest to other members of the public.
• Register of contracts worth more than $150,000 that Council has with private sector bodies.
• Additional open access information as defined for Local Government.

2. Authorised proactive release

Council is encouraged to release additional information, not considered mandatory release information, which may be of interest to the general public. Any proactive release must be exercised in an appropriate manner by or with the authority of Council's principal officer, free of charge (or at the lowest reasonable cost).

3. Informal access applications

Some information held by Council may be released in response to an informal request, subject to any reasonable conditions that Council may wish to impose. This may include a request for information not currently available on Council's website or a request for an individual's own personal information or perhaps a request for a very small amount of information.

Please note that an informal access application does not have a statutory time-frame within which such requests must be decided; nor is there a right of review available for alternate officer of Council to review the original application for information.

An informal access application can be made by printing the request form below and completing the application in full and return to Council for consideration:

4. Formal access applications

In some circumstances, individuals seeking access to government information will need to submit a formal informal request and make payment of the statutory fee. Generally a formal access application is required where:

• The information is of a sensitive nature that requires careful consideration in terms of overriding public interest for and against disclosure;
• The information contains personal or confidential information of another person where consultation with other agencies or third parties is required;
• The information requested would involve an unreasonable amount of time and/or resources to provide the information requested.

Please note that a formal access application has a statutory time-frame within which such requests must be decided; it also has a right of review available for an alternate officer of Council to review the original application for information provided that the applicant submits an application for an internal review request form and makes payment of the statutory fee.

A formal access application can be made by printing the request form below and completing the application in full and return to Council for consideration:

Privacy Information

Council has adopted a Code of Conduct policy which helps to ensure that persons associated with the organisation are aware of privacy issues and ensures that personal information of individuals is handled in accordance with legislation. 

Additional Information

The GIPA Act is complemented by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIPA), which establishes an individual's right to amend personal information in records held by Councils and other government agencies.

For more information on GIPA and PPIPA, please refer to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner website www.ipc.nsw.gov.au .

Disclaimers

Responsibility for information on this site - Narrandera Shire Council makes no guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this website.  All of the material on this site is for information and communication purposes only and does not constitute legal or any other advice upon which you can rely.  Whilst Narrandera Shire Council endeavours to ensure that the information provided on the website is accurate and complete, it does not guarantee that the information is current, complete or correct and accepts no responsibility in these respects.

Copyright Disclaimer

Council's responsibility to release information is protected by Copyright.

Narrandera Shire Council provides access to information in accordance with the requirements of the GIPA Act, however legal Copyright provisions currently apply.

Information held on Council's website is intended for general use only.  Information and files may be downloaded, stored in cache, displayed and printed. Content must not be modified, copied, reproduced, or republished without the consent of Narrandera Shire Council.

Where Council is not the copyright owner of the documents, authority from the document owner may be necessary before Council can release copies of documents to members of the public. An example of this would be property plans and property reports lodged as part of a Development Application.

The Disclosure Log of requests received by Council and how the requests have been managed is provided below.

 

Contract Register 

In accordance with Section 27 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA), Council is required to maintain a register that records information about each government contract which has (or is likely to have) a value of $150,000 or more.

To view the current Contract Register visit Contract Register | Narrandera Shire Council (nsw.gov.au)