What is Open Government?

The ACT Government is commited to:

  • transparency
    •  in process and information
  • participation
    • by citizens in the governing process
  • public collaboration in finding solutions to problems and participation in the improved well-being of the community.

For the ACT Government, being an open government means we value collaboration with each other and the community. The Open Government initiatives, including this website, enhance democracy and place the community at the centre of the governance process.

Open Government in the ACT

On June 23 2011, Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher MLA, made a Ministerial Statement on Open Government 'taking a broad approach to enhance the openness of the way we govern, encompassing transparency, participation, and collaboration'. On the issue of transparency she said 'I believe that as a first principle information available to the Government should be made available for use by the community.'

The Chief Minister went on to detail a number of practical initiatives supporting an Open Government initiative, one of which was the creation of the Open Government website.

Opening up Government, particularly on the Internet, is an ongoing process that will be undertaken incrementally in a spirit of experimentation tempered by the need to protect citizens' privacy and security; always having regard to commercial confidentiality and copyright.

Open Data in the ACT

Open data, a significant component of open government, is of increasing interest to the community, and is essential to achieving a Digital Canberra. This Policy sets out the official position on open data for the ACT Government: