Introduction

The Immigration Assessment Authority (the IAA) is an independent authority within the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The IAA is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and is required to comply with the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requirements. This plan describes how the IAA proposes to do this, as required by the FOI Act.

This plan describes how the IAA proposes to implement and administer the IPS in respect of its own information holdings, by addressing:

  • establishing and administering the IAA’s IPS
  • IPS information publication and information architecture
  • accessibility to information published under the IPS; and
  • IPS compliance review

Purpose

The purpose of this plan is to:

  • assist the IAA in developing its contribution to the IPS; and
  • describe the information the IAA proposes to publish (referred to as the IPS information holdings), how and to whom the information will be published and how the IAA will otherwise comply with the IPS requirements.

Objectives

The IAA’s objectives are to develop appropriate mechanisms and procedures to:

  • manage the IAA’s IPS information holdings;
  • identify and publish all information required to be published under the scheme (s 8(2));
  • identify and publish any optional information to be published under the scheme (s 8(4));
  • review and ensure regularly that information published under the IPS is accurate, up to date and complete (s 8B);
  • ensure that all information published under the IPS conforms, or will conform as soon as practicable, to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0), and is or will be easily discoverable, understandable, machine-readable, re-useable and transformable

Administering information published under the IPS

The IAA will develop an information management framework which will apply to IAA information published under the IPS.

The IAA will engage with the community about its contribution to the IPS. This includes:

  • making IPS documents as easily discoverable, understandable and machine-readable as possible;
  • inviting members of the public to contact an IAA contact officer with comments on the IPS information holdings, particularly where documents are found not to be discoverable, understandable or machine-readable; and
  • inviting feedback on the IPS section of the IAA website.

The IAA will also arrange for any of its IPS documents which are not available on the website, to be made available where possible upon request.

The IAA may charge a person for accessing any IPS document which it is impracticable to publish online. If these circumstances apply, it will be at the lowest reasonable cost with consideration given to reimbursement of specific reproduction costs or other specific incidental costs (s8D(4)).

IPS information publication and information architecture

The IPS information holdings that are available on the IAA website will be accessible through links under the following headings:

To ensure that the IPS information holdings (and individual IPS documents) are, to the greatest extent possible, easily discoverable, understandable and machine-readable, the IAA will:

  • Make the IPS section of the website under the ‘Access to Information’ link on the home page;
  • respond to community feedback about whether the IPS information holdings (and individual IPS documents) are easily discoverable, understandable and machine-readable.

Accessibility to information published under the IPS

From commencement of the IPS, the IAA will publish any new IPS documents as soon as they are available for publication.

The IAA will ensure that optional information published on its website conforms with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0).

IPS compliance review

The IAA will review the IPS Plan annually, and the operation of its IPS from time to time and at least every three years, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner about IPS compliance review (better practice guidance material to assist agencies to comply with the IPS – to be published in the Information Commissioner’s regulatory capacity).