Automated Decision-Making and FOI: What the OAIC’s Latest Report Means for Transparency
What the review covered
The report is based on a desktop review of 23 Australian Government agency websites, each authorised under legislation to use ADM in decision-making. The review assessed how clearly and consistently agencies explain their use of ADM through their public websites, particularly via the Information Publication Scheme (IPS).
ADM is defined in the report as the use of technology, commonly referred to in Commonwealth legislation as a “computer program”, to automate a decision-making process. It is now widely embedded in government service delivery, including areas such as social services, migration, biosecurity, aged care and veterans’ entitlements.
Why this matters
Automated decisions can directly affect people’s rights, entitlements and obligations. The OAIC’s report reinforces that transparency is essential to maintaining trust, enabling public scrutiny, and supporting individuals to understand how decisions about them are made.
Under Part II of the FOI Act, agencies are required to proactively publish operational information, including policies, procedures and practices that inform decision-making. Where ADM is used, this obligation becomes even more critical.
Key findings
The review found significant variation in how agencies describe and disclose their use of ADM. In many cases, information was:
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Difficult to locate
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Inconsistent across agencies
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Lacking sufficient detail to meaningfully explain how decisions are made
This inconsistency limits the effectiveness of the IPS and undermines the FOI Act’s objective of promoting open government.
OAIC recommendations
The Information Commissioner makes a series of recommendations aimed at improving transparency, including clearer publication of ADM-related policies and procedures, better use of IPS pages, and more accessible explanations of how automated systems operate in practice.
The report is directed at Australian Government agencies, but its implications extend well beyond the public sector.
What this means for information professionals
For records, information and privacy practitioners, the message is clear: ADM governance is now inseparable from FOI, records and information management. Accurate documentation, clear process records, and well-maintained public-facing information are essential to meeting transparency obligations in an increasingly automated environment.
As ADM use continues to expand, this report sets a clear expectation that agencies must not only use technology responsibly, but also explain it clearly, publicly and defensibly.