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Moves to Free Australian Public Sector Information
Date: 29 June 2009
The Victorian Parliament's Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee in Australia tabled a report on 24 June calling for improved access to Victorian Government information.
The Committee was asked to report on the benefits and costs of maximising access to and use of Government information for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
The Committee's key recommendation is that the Victorian Government establish an Information Management Framework (IMF), with open access to Government information at no or marginal cost as the default position.
The Chair of the Committee, the Hon. Christine Campbell MP said, "Governments are the largest holders of information and opening this up for public use will drive innovation across Victoria."
"The Committee believes the economic and social benefits arising from the release of Victorian Government information at no cost will far outweigh the benefits of treating it as a commodity."
To facilitate discovery of Victorian Government information, the Committee recommended the development of a data directory to allow anyone to identify what information and data exists.
"A comprehensive and searchable register of materials held by the Government is essential to improve access to government information," Ms Campbell said.
The Committee was also asked to consider how flexible licensing systems would facilitate reuse of government information. It recommended the Victorian Government adopt the Creative Commons licensing model.
"Based on the concept of ‘free culture', Creative Commons provides a consistent and simple set of licensing options that allow the Victorian Government to make materials available for reuse on liberal terms," Ms Campbell said.
During the course of the Inquiry, the Committee received 80 written submissions and convened public hearings with 32 witnesses. The Committee's report contains 46 recommendations.
The Victorian Government has six months to respond to the Committee's recommendations.
A summary of the report's 46 recommendations are available in the Committee's media release (PDF 39KB).
You can also read the Committee's full report (HTML).
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