Information governance sets the legal, regulatory and business context within which we create, use and manage information on behalf of the government and the people of Australia.
Figure 2 – ATO Information Governance Model
Information Governance Executive Group
The information Governance Executive Group ensures that effective governance arrangements are in place across the ATO. The Information Governance Executive Group specific activities include:
- endorsing agency information management strategies and programs
- addressing issues significantly impacting our Information Management capability or reputation requiring engagement across the agency at a senior level to resolve.
Information Governance Working Group
The Information Governance Working Group:
- develops and maintains our information governance
- contributes to and assesses the effectiveness of our information management:
- strategy
- policy
- practice
- risk
- architecture
- reviews and contributes to program and project proposals for information management initiatives.
Information Governance Secretariat
The Secretariat maintains the governance of our Information Management practices by supporting the Information Governance Executive Group and the Information Governance Working Group. It coordinates agency information governance activities and is the interdepartmental liaison for whole of Government information initiatives such as implementing standards, practices and system interoperability.
Data governance groups
In the ATO, oversight of data management is undertaken through the line management accountability of the Smarter Data Executive. Broader based executive level governance is provided through the SES band 2 Data and Analytics Committee and the SES band 1 Data and Analytics Implementation Committee. Both forums have representation from across the ATO, including business, corporate and information technology areas. Other data governance groups exist either at lower levels or with more specific focus areas.
The criteria we use to judge the effectiveness of our information management requires that we deliver information that is fit for purpose, is accessible to meet our requirements, and is managed according to governing legislation and standards.