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The Australian Government Information Management Office Archive

Guide to Minimum Website Standards - Information Provision

This guidance has been superseded by the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide and should be used for reference purposes only.

April 2003 edition.  Contact details updated March 2005.

Chapter Headings:
What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard? - Implementation requirements - Background - Key things you should know - Further Assistance - FAQ

Information provision

What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard?

The Online Information Service Obligations (OISOs) were developed as part of the Government Online Strategy, released in April 2000. Agencies are required under these standards to include minimum sets of information on their websites. Under Better Services, Better Government: The Federal Government's E-government Strategy, released in November 2002, these standards and enablers remain relevant, and the OISO's are the policy responsibility of AGIMO (formerly NOIE).

Further information is available at www.agimo.gov.au/information/oiso

Implementation requirements

The Government agreed that from 1 June 2000, all new website content falling within the OISOs were to be routinely placed online, and all new non-commercial publications were to be made available online concurrently with other forms of dissemination. From 1 December 2000, existing documents deemed appropriate by the agency were to be provided online. All forms for public use were to be made available online to be downloaded or electronically completed by 1 December 2000.

Background

The OISOs establish a minimum set of information which Commonwealth departments and agencies must provide on their websites. This includes basic information such as organisational contact details and other corporate information, media releases, speeches and legislative information. Information may be hosted on an agency's website, or the website may provide links to information held elsewhere.

OISOs require Commonwealth departments and agencies to ensure that all non-commercial publications are made available online concurrently with their public release. In addition, all forms for public use must be made available online to be downloaded and printed, or to be electronically completed.

Key things you should know 

The categories of information that must be provided on websites to support the OISOs include:

1. Directories of services and organisations, including contact details.

Government agencies need to consider how their customers find information about the organisation's structure and responsibilities. Agencies should provide contact details for the various areas of their departments, ensuring clients have a range of options for methods of contact.

2. Information needed by the public and organisations to facilitate their understanding of entitlements to government assistance and the requirements of Government that affect them.

This information would include documentation such as:

• Explanatory notes and policies;
• Information about public grants and assistance;
• Benefits and entitlements;
• Service Charters;
• Application, enrolment and/or compliance type forms; and
• Links to other information, eg. legal and legislative rulings specifically associated with an entitlement, benefit or policy, privacy statements etc.

3. Legislative information available at SCALEplus (http://scaleplus.law.gov.au).

Agencies are not required to duplicate information on their websites that is available elsewhere. In order to provide access to legislative information, agencies should provide Hypertext links to relevant resources.

4. Press releases, speeches and other public information released by ministers, their officers and holders of statutory offices.

Provision of online press releases, speeches and other public information released by Ministers, their offices and holders of statutory offices is an important means of getting Government messages delivered.

Information included could comprise:

5. Annual reports, corporate strategic plans and other public accountability-type documents.

These are basic accountability documents that help Australians understand how Government works, and include:

6. Reports required to be submitted to Parliament.

While there is no formal list of documents that should be submitted to Parliament, agencies might consult the following guidelines issued by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Presentation of Ministerial Statements, Reports and Government Responses to the Parliament. http://www.pmc.gov.au/pdfs/guidelines2001.rtf

When documents are tabled in Parliament, they become part of the public record. Agencies are required to publish these documents online.

7. Information about agency powers affecting the public, and manuals and other documents used in decision-making affecting the public.

It is important that there is a consistent set of information about agencies and their services available online. The information about agency powers and the documents used in decision-making should not only be comprehensive but also easy to access.

Further Assistance

Website - www.agimo.gov.au/information/oiso

Contact Person - Ainslie Sowden

Email - AGIMO - Service Delivery Branch

Phone - 02 6215 1524

Address - Australian Government Information Management Office, Department of Finance and Administration, John Gorton Building, King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600.

FAQ

Q. We sell many of our publications. Do we need to make these available online?

A. Publications for sale are classified as commercial publications and do not need to be made available online at this time, although their availability should be listed.

Contents of the Guide to Minimum Website Standards 

• Introduction
• Information provision
• Metadata
• Electronic publishing
• Electronic Record Keeping and Archiving
• Web Content Accessibility
• Authentication
• Privacy
• Security
• References
• Further assistance
• Attachments