Data Availability and Transparency Bill and Accreditation

This submission responds to the 2020 consultation on the Data Availability and Transparency Bill Exposure Draft and the accompanying Accreditation Framework Discussion Paper, which would establish a scheme for sharing Australian Government data. Research Australia, which had advocated for many years for better research access to public data and contributed to the Public Sector Data Management project and the Productivity Commission’s 2016 inquiry into data availability and use, strongly supports the Bill and makes a small number of recommendations to improve it. It recommends that the National Data Commissioner issue guidance, and the Explanatory Memorandum refer to the NHMRC Open Access Policy, so that data sharing agreements can address research outputs such as metadata and later access by peer reviewers. Citing Productivity Commission evidence of researchers waiting nearly five years for CT scan data and more than eight years for linked vaccine safety data, it recommends amending clause 23 so that data custodians must consider reasonable requests, respond in a timely and efficient manner and give reasons for refusals, and proposes a public register of refused applications alongside the register of data sharing agreements. On accreditation, it sees no reason for Australian ownership criteria, suggests the approach to accrediting individuals should follow whatever is most efficient, possibly via the Commissioner’s digital platform, and maintains that accreditation costs should be met from general taxation rather than fees on users and data service providers.