Good Records Management, Open Government and Record Keeping Assignment

Assignment Task

Background

You are an intern in the Parliamentary Library in Canberra. One of your responsibilities has been to research the topic of open government and the potential implications for Australia at the national level. In November 2015 Australia became an active participant in the Open Government Partnership. This move was followed by the release of Australia’s first Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18, followed by the second National Action Plan 2018-20. The third National Action Plan 2024-25 was released on 15 December 2023 . Given your knowledge of the area you have just been asked to write a briefing paper on open government and its implications for government recordkeeping for a new Member of Parliament (MP). The new MP wants to understand the issues involved so she can contribute to an upcoming debate on the topic. The MP is also interested to know if social media, and how governments use it, has a role in open government.

Briefing Paper

Your briefing paper should begin with an overview of the legislative frameworks for government records and information today, including but not confined to, Freedom of Information, privacy and records/archives legislation. You should discuss the progress to date of open government initiatives in breaking down traditional barriers between governments as creators of information and the public as consumers of government information. You should also discuss problems that may arise for governments when they adopt open policies and practices for releasing and sharing information. The briefing paper should identify trends in open government that are likely to be relevant to government recordkeeping policy for the next few years. In addition, you need to ensure that you address the question of social media and its relationship with open government.

Your briefing paper should:

• summarise developments in technology and societal attitudes that have created a demand for proactive disclosure of information by government;
• identify problems associated with sharing of personal information contained in government records;
• reflect on any ethical and legal issues for records and archives management;
• address the implications of open government for government recordkeeping;
• refer to examples of open government practices on the use and re-use of government information in Australia or other countries;
• address the question of social media and its relationship with open government; and
• conclude with a one-page summary that distils the findings of your research for the MP.

You are encouraged to refer to government websites that provide examples of government use of social media and open government initiatives and cite these in your reference list.

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