National Data Advisory Council Meeting Reports
The National Data Advisory Council held its second meeting for 2023 on Tuesday, 22 August 2023.
Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, addressed the Council and discussed the Government’s initial Data and Digital Government Strategy. The strategy outlines a vision to deliver simple, secure, and connected public services for all people and business through world class data and digital capabilities. The strategy was released earlier in the year for consultation and is expected to be finalised and published by the end of 2023.
The Council provided advice on use cases for the DATA Scheme, emphasising the importance of delivery of better outcomes for Australians. Members discussed next steps for Dataplace, the program to support Australian Government agencies to develop their data inventories and the Australian Government Data Catalogue. The Council reviewed ONDC’s procedures and guidance for Scheme participants and others on handling complaints. They provided advice on how to make it clear and easy for people to make complaints. The Council reviewed ONDC’s procedures for assessing applications for accreditation as a data service provider. Members discussed issues with reidentifying data and best practices to mitigate the risks.
The National Data Advisory Council held its first meeting for 2023 on Friday, 17 March 2023. The meeting was chaired by newly appointed Chair, Rod Sims AO.
The Council reviewed ONDC’s approach to providing guidance which support participants to engage effectively with the DATA Scheme, including recently published guidance notes. Members endorsed the approach of providing easily understood, practical guidance to participants.
Members discussed the ONDC’s procedures for assessing applications for user accreditation and noted the importance of having a consistent accreditation process.
The Council considered the ONDC’s approach to handling a potential Scheme data breach, including timeframes for reporting, the importance of preventative measures, as well as planning the response and the benefits of alignment with other reporting standards.
The National Data Advisory Council met on 6 December 2022. The meeting was chaired by the National Data Commissioner, Ms Gayle Milnes.
Members endorsed the minutes and actions from the October meeting and a forward agenda for 2023.
Members considered feedback from Scheme participants and others and provided advice on ONDC’s engagement activities going forward. The Council also discussed early DATA Scheme use cases emphasising the importance of use cases that improved citizen services and demonstrated excellence in research.
The Council discussed ONDC’s draft Regulation and Compliance Strategy and Action Plan. Members underscored the importance of taking enforcement action in circumstances where the Scheme’s integrity was at risk.
Members reviewed ONDC’s transparency and reporting mechanisms and obligations, and provided advice on how these can evolve as the Scheme matures.
The statutory National Data Advisory Council held its second meeting on 4 October 2022. The meeting was chaired by the National Data Commissioner, Ms Gayle Milnes. Members endorsed minutes and actions from the June meeting, and a forward agenda for the December meeting.
The Council reviewed the ONDC’s communication and engagement strategy and provided feedback on the strategy and its action plan, including sharing lessons from the private sector and others.
Members viewed a live demonstration of Dataplace, the new IT platform that supports data sharing and administration of the DATA Scheme. The Council provided feedback on the data request and data sharing services that are being developed for release later this year.
The Council discussed progress with the Data Discovery program and the draft Data Inventory Guide that brings together the learnings from the three pilot Data Inventory Projects undertaken by the ONDC. Members provided advice on future steps regarding the development of an Australian Government Data Catalogue.
Members provided advice on how Commonwealth agencies can consider recovering the costs of data sharing, in accordance with s140 of the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 and existing government policy.
The statutory National Data Advisory Council held its first meeting on 30 June 2022. The virtual meeting was chaired by the National Data Commissioner, Ms Gayle Milnes.
Members endorsed terms of reference for the Council and agreed a forward agenda and schedule of meetings.
The Council discussed draft objectives, measures and targets for the DATA Scheme, emphasising the importance of being able to demonstrate public benefit from sharing data. They also discussed challenges with establishing baselines, identifying benchmarks, attribution and creating the right incentives.
Council members provided advice on a draft data code which will guide scheme participants on how the data sharing principles are to be applied, focused on the public interest test as well as the approaches to consent, privacy and ethics.
The Council considered the National Data Commissioner's draft regulatory posture and annual regulation and compliance priorities, noting the importance of timeliness and a risk-based approach.
The Council discussed the approach to accrediting data service providers under the DATA Scheme, providing advice on proposed questions and processes as they applied to the range of scheme participants (Commonwealth and state government agencies as well as universities), offering different data services.