Australia adopts the International Open Data Charter

Samira Hassan | 07 Apr 2017

The Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, the Hon. Angus Taylor MP, has released a statement finalising Australia’s adoption of the International Open Data Charter (Charter).

open data charter logo

The adoption of the Charter reinforces Australia’s commitment to the open data agenda and will enable Australia to share and learn best practice on international data initiatives. Implementation of the Charter will be led out of PM&C in collaboration with the research, private and non-government sectors, as well as the Australian public.

Australia committed to adopt the Charter as part of its first Open Government National Action Plan.

The International Open Data Charter was established in 2015 and builds on the G8 Open Data Charter, signed by G8 leaders in July 2013. The Charter is a collaboration between governments and data experts, and is underpinned by six principles to improve the access, release and use of data:

  1. Open by default
  2. Timely and comprehensive
  3. Accessible and usable
  4. Comparable and interoperable
  5. For improved governance and citizen engagement
  6. For inclusive development and innovation

These principles strongly align with the Australian Government’s Public Data Policy Statement (December 2015), which requires Australian Government entities to make non-sensitive data open by default. It also aligns with commitments in Australia’s National Action Plan.