Delays processing WA Freedom of Information applications as number of requests double

Western Australia’s Department of Premier and Cabinet is experiencing severe bottlenecks in processing Freedom of Information requests, with application volumes nearly doubling recent averages. This surge has resulted in significant processing delays, pushing many cases well beyond statutory timeframes. The Information Commissioner has previously characterized these delays as a persistent and concerning systemic failure, highlighting that agencies are struggling to manage the growing volume of applications within legal limits. The core issue stems from an outdated legislative framework that relies on a reactive model, where information is only disclosed when specifically requested. Experts argue that transitioning to a proactive disclosure model, where agencies routinely publish key data without needing individual prompts, would alleviate this pressure. This shift is increasingly viewed as necessary to modernize transparency efforts, as the current system fails to keep pace with public demand for accountability and risks undermining the integrity of government operations through chronic backlogs. This situation is critically relevant to the open_data community because it illustrates the practical limitations of access-based transparency. When governments fail to proactively share data, citizens and journalists are forced into a costly, time-consuming adversarial process to obtain public records. The persistent delays and under-resourcing described here underscore the urgent need for structural reforms that prioritize active data publication, ensuring that public information is accessible by default rather than as a privilege granted after bureaucratic hurdles.

Source: abc.net.au
Published on 2023-06-06

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