Information Publication Scheme
Legal
About the Information Publication Scheme
The Information Publication Scheme (IPS) is a government scheme that encourages government agencies to be proactive when it comes to publishing and disclosing information that it holds. The scheme covers all government agencies subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). This includes the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission).
The Commission is committed to continue building a proactively transparent culture, by publishing a broad range of information available to the public online. This includes our IPS Plan, which explains how the IPS is administered.
The IPS is overseen by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). You can find more details about the IPS on the OAIC's website.
The Commission's IPS Plan
The Commission's IPS Plan outlines the information that we propose to publish for the purpose of the IPS, including how and to whom we propose to publish that information. This is a requirement under section 8(2)(a) of the FOI Act.
You can find the Commission's IPS Plan available here:
The purpose of this plan is to explain our approach to the IPS, and outline what we will include in our IPS entry.
Who We Are
Information about the organisational structure of the Commission, governance arrangements, details of the Chief Executive, and details of appointments of Commission members that are made under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) are available on the following pages:
- About us
- Annual Report (which includes a chart of the Commission's organisational structure)
- Commission Corporate Information
- Details of the Chief Executive and our statutory office holders
What We Do
Details about the functions of the Commission, including decision-making powers and other powers affecting members of the public are available on the following pages:
Information and guidelines held by the Commission, that assist it in performing or exercising its functions or powers, or in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public can be found on the following pages:
- Information about the Commission's complaint handling, investigation and conciliation functions
- Complaints - Charter of Service
- Guidelines on the distinct role of the President and the Commissioners of the Commission in relation to complaint handling and public comment
- Guidelines for the exercise of the Commissioner's Amicus Curiae function
- Guidelines on applications for interventions in Court proceedings
- Guidelines for an interim injunction under section 46PP of the AHRC Act
- Guidelines for the examination of enactments under Commission legislation
- Temporary exemption guidelines for the Sex Discrimination Act
- Temporary exemption guidelines for the Disability Discrimination Act
- Temporary exemption guidelines for the Age Discrimination Act
- Policy for Positive Duty compliance and enforcement
- Commission Submissions Policy
- Commission Privacy Policy
- Commission Survey Policy
Our Reports and Responses to Parliament
Copies of the Commission's annual reports are available on the following page:
Our annual reports are also collated and published on the Australian Government's Transparency Portal.
The Commission is required to publish information it holds that is routinely provided to the Parliament in response to requests and orders from the Parliament. You can find links to the Commission's responses to Parliament on the pages below:
- Senate Order for File Listings (providing indexed list of files held by the Commission)
- Senate Order on Government Contracts
- Submissions made by the Commission, including to parliamentary inquiries
Requested Information and Disclosure Log
The Commission publishes an FOI 'disclosure log', which includes a list of FOI decisions made within the last two financial years. Members of the public may request from the Commission copies of documents released as part of a previous FOI decision that is published on the disclosure log.
You can find our disclosure log on our Freedom of Information disclosure log page.
Contact Details
To make an FOI request to the Commission, please address your request to 'Freedom of Information Officer' and send your request either by email or post:
Email: foi@humanrights.gov.au
Post: Australian Human Rights Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001.
To assist you in making an FOI request, further information, including details about the type of information the Commission holds, is available on our Freedom of Information page.
The Commission regularly seeks the views of the public on human rights projects and other matters. To see a list of projects currently seeking submissions from the public, please visit our Have your say page.
Further Information
The Commission publishes a wide range of useful information on its website. Below are links to some particularly important corporate governance and financial information:
Our Priorities, including Corporate and Strategic Plans
- Commission Strategic Plan 2022-2025
- Commission Corporate Plan 2023-2024
- Commission Corporate Information
Our Finances
Your Feedback
The Commission will review the IPS Plan and the operation of the IPS within the Commission as appropriate from time to time and at least every five years, having regard to the objects of the FOI Act and in accordance with the Guidelines, issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Any review of this Plan will take into account feedback received from the public regarding the Commission's IPS Plan and entry.
We welcome your feedback on the Commission's IPS compliance. Feedback can be sent to legal@humanrights.gov.au.