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Information Publication Scheme Plan

Introduction

From 1 May 2011 the Freedom of Information Act (FOI ACT) requires Australian Government agencies to publish certain information on a website. (Agency plan ss 8(2)(a) of the FOI Act).

Purpose

Cancer Australia publishes on its website this plan showing how it proposes to meet the requirements of the information publication scheme. The plan indicates:

  • what information Cancer Australia proposes to publish
  • how this will be done through our website
  • how Cancer Australia proposes to comply with the scheme.

In accordance with section 11C of the FOI Act, Cancer Australia will also publish in a FOI disclosure log all responses to FOI requests (other than personal or exempt information) on the Cancer Australia website within 10 working days of providing the response to the applicant.

More about Cancer Australia’s FOI arrangements.

Information Publication Scheme Plan — what Cancer Australia will do

Cancer Australia will:

  • publish the Information Publication Scheme icon on our homepage, which will link to the FOI and Information Publication Scheme section of the website;
  • publish and update FOI, Information Publication Scheme and related information on our website;
  • wherever possible, progressively provide online content in a format that can be searched, copied and transformed;
  • review information regularly for accuracy, currency and completeness.

Cancer Australia will, as far as is reasonable and practicable, make its Information Publication Scheme published information holdings available for reuse on open licensing terms.

Cancer Australia will publish its online information under the Information Publication Scheme so that it conforms to the government timetable for applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0).

Updating the Plan and IPS compliance review

Beginning in the 2011-12 financial year, the functions currently carried out by Cancer Australia and the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre are to be brought together into a single Australian Government agency. There will be a transition period for this amalgamation. Parts of the Information Publication Scheme Plan will be updated progressively as the amalgamation proceeds.

The Plan will be reviewed by the end of 2011 to ensure that it covers the information holdings of the amalgamated agency.

Who we are and what we do

The functions of Cancer Australia are set out in s.6 of the Cancer Australia Act 2006 as follows:

a)  to provide national leadership in cancer control
b)  to guide scientific improvements to cancer prevention, treatment and care
c)  to coordinate and liaise between the wide range of groups and health care providers with an interest in cancer
d)  to make recommendations to the Australian Government about cancer policy and priorities
e)  to oversee a dedicated budget for research into cancer
f)  to assist with the implementation of Commonwealth Government policies and programs in cancer control
g)  to provide financial assistance, out of money appropriated by the Parliament, for research into cancer covered by the dedicated budget, and for the implementation of policies and programs referred to above
h)  any functions which the Minister, by writing, directs Cancer Australia to perform.

The following links provide further information relating to:

Our priorities and finances

Our priorities for each financial year, including funding and performance indicators, are outlined in our Portfolio Budget Statements. Cancer Australia’s first Portfolio Budget Statement was in 2006-07.

Decision making powers and other powers affecting members of the public (or any particular person or entity, or class of persons or entities)

The Minister for Health and Ageing and Cancer Australia officers exercise decision-making powers under the Cancer Australia Act 2006.

In the normal course of operations as an Australian Government agency, Cancer Australia staff also exercise functions and powers under Acts such as the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and the Public Service Act 1999.

Under section 30 of the Cancer Australia Act 2006, the Cancer Australia Advisory Council is an advisory body and has no decision-making power or other powers directly affecting members of the public.

Appointments of officers of Cancer Australia that are made under Acts

The Chief Executive Officer Cancer Australia, Dr Helen Zorbas, was appointed under s.14 of the Cancer Australia Act 2006, for a period of three years from 15 June 2010.

Annual reports laid before the Parliament

Arrangements for members of the public to comment on specific policy proposals for which Cancer Australia is responsible

An Advisory Council provides advice to the Chief Executive Officer about the performance of Cancer Australia’s functions. The Advisory Council includes community representatives who are personally affected by cancer.

Cancer Australia has also established advisory groups to provide input to and advice and direction on a range of issues and activities undertaken by Cancer Australia, and to provide support and advice for each of Cancer Australia’s administered programs. These group comprise experts across all aspects of cancer control, including people personally affected by cancer, health professionals, researchers and policymakers.

From time to time, Cancer Australia may issue documents or proposals for public consultation. These are released through the New and notices section of the Cancer Australia homepage.

The process for contributing, including how and to whom comments may be made,will be described each time a document or proposal is made available for consultation.

Current online consultation: Development of a National Framework for Consumer Involvement in Cancer Control.

Information on documents to which Cancer Australia routinely gives access

Certain Cancer Australia information, including details about the work undertaken and outcomes of the programs can be obtained from the Cancer Australia website without following a formal process under the FOI Act. The information also includes:

The 'News and notices' section of the homepage provides information about:

  • Tenders issued by Cancer Australia.
  • Guidelines issued for each funding round, covering submission of project or grant applications for Cancer Australia programs
  • Information about successful applications for funding through Cancer Australia

Check the FOI disclosure log  to see if other information is already available.

Information that Cancer Australia agency routinely provides to Parliament

In addition to tabling our annual reports in the Parliament, Cancer Australia also reports against requirements specified by the Parliament.  These include:

  • Indexed listings of file titles created by Cancer Australia.
  • Details of Cancer Australia’s contracts with other organisations that are valued at over $100 000.
  • Details of contracts valued at over $100 000 each, by calendar year.
  • List of grants approved, including the value of the grant, recipient of the grant and the program from which the grant was made.

Contact details about access to information or documents under the FOI Act

FOI contact officer on (+612) 6217 9823 or email foi@canceraustralia.gov.au

Information Publication Scheme — Operational Information    

Under subsection 8A (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) (as in force from 1 May 2011), the ‘operational information’ of an agency is:

... information held by the agency to assist the agency to perform or exercise the agency's functions or powers in making decisions or recommendations affecting members of the public (or any particular person or entity, or class of persons or entities).

Approach to accessibility

From 1 May 2011, Cancer Australia will publish new documents under the Information Publication Scheme.

Cancer Australia will seek to ensure that all information newly published on our website conforms with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0) as soon as possible. Australian Government websites are to meet the new guidelines at the minimum compliance level (Single A) by the end of 2012.

There will be some PDFs on the Cancer Australia website that are images of scanned documents. Some documents that are out-of-date are provided for historical reference. Charts, tables and forms may also appear on the website.

Updated 16 Feb 2012