The Office of the Information Commissioner ('OIC') published, on 26 May 2022, a draft guide titled 'Open by Design – FOI and Information Access in WA', for which the OIC is seeking feedback on how to make the draft guide clear and useful. In particular, the OIC highlighted that the draft guide builds on the Joint Statement of Principles to support proactive disclosure of government-held documents, which was published by the Australian Information Access Commissioners and Ombudsmen in September 2021. Moreover, the OIC stated that the draft guide is designed to assist and encourage agencies to create appropriate Open by Design policies and processes to facilitate effective information release beyond the formal access procedures, as outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) ('FOI Act').

As such, the OIC clarified that it is seeking feedback in response to the following questions regarding the draft guide:

• Is the content useful and practical? If not what would make it more useful or practical?
• Is the language clear and understandable?
• Is anything missing – what else do you think should be included?

Moreover, the OIC added that, other comments or suggestions are also welcome.

Finally, the OIC confirmed that feedback can be submitted via email to [email protected], until 29 July 2022.

You can access the draft guide here.