Submission: Australia’s draft open government partnership national action plan
Formal Submission from Transparency International Australia on Australia’s Draft Open Government
Partnership National Action Plan.
It is important for all stakeholders to understand that this first NAP is not an end in itself. It is the very
first step in an ongoing process towards open government in Australia. Open Government will take time
and have many iterations along its lengthy journey.
We submit that the current process and this draft NAP present a very solid foundation upon which we
can all build in the years to come. This first NAP will directly inform the next Plan due in 2018/19.
International experience suggests that the first NAP is always the hardest. Australia is in a strong
position so early in its OGP journey to develop ever stronger NAPs with SMART milestones (as suggested
by the OGP Support Unit) that will deliver reforms citizens notice and acknowledge. The current first
NAP foundation can be further enhanced with some relatively straightforward improvements.