Information Integrity at the Heart of Australia’s Privacy and FOI Future
Information integrity, privacy rights and access to government information are taking on greater significance as technology rapidly changes how information is created, managed, accessed and used.
Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd says the OAIC has a critical role in upholding information rights, ensuring laws and rules are applied fairly, and supporting trust in Australia’s democratic institutions and economy.
At the centre of the new strategy are three core strategic impacts:
- Address power and information asymmetries
- Promote information integrity
- Embed fairness, accountability and transparency in new technology
These priorities have particular relevance for records and information management professionals.
Information integrity moves into focus
The OAIC’s emphasis on information integrity reinforces the importance of reliable, accessible and well-governed government information.
For R&IM practitioners, this connects directly with established responsibilities for authenticity, reliability, accessibility, accountability and defensible information governance. As organisations increasingly introduce AI, automated decision-making and complex data environments, the ability to demonstrate where information came from, how it has been managed and whether it can be trusted becomes increasingly important.
The OAIC’s strategy specifically identifies good governance as part of ensuring information integrity, privacy and FOI rights. It also calls for greater transparency around the adoption and use of AI and automated decision-making.
Australians expect more from information governance
The strategy comes as Australians demonstrate strong expectations around both privacy and access to information.
OAIC research cited in its 2026–27 Corporate Plan found that 96% of Australians consider the right to access government-held information important or very important, while 98% believe organisations should be responsible for protecting the personal information they collect, use and share. The research also found that 87% of respondents were more concerned about their privacy than they were five years ago.
These findings highlight why information governance is much more than an internal compliance function. How organisations capture, manage, protect, retain, dispose of and provide access to information can directly influence community confidence.
New technology, new accountability
One of the clearest messages from the OAIC strategy is that technological innovation cannot come at the expense of information rights.
As AI and automated systems become embedded across government and the broader economy, organisations will need to consider transparency, accountability and fairness alongside technical capability.
For R&IM professionals, this creates an opportunity to contribute expertise at the point where technology, governance and information rights intersect. Good recordkeeping can provide the evidence needed to understand decisions, establish accountability and demonstrate how information and data have been used.
The challenge for organisations will increasingly be not simply whether they can use new technology, but whether they can demonstrate that the information supporting it is trustworthy, appropriately governed and managed in accordance with privacy and information access obligations.
For the R&IM profession, the OAIC’s direction reinforces a familiar principle with renewed urgency: trusted decisions depend on trusted information.
Original source: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Strategic Plan 2026–2029, published 15 September 2026. Read the OAIC Strategic Plan 2026–2029