Introduction
The Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board (CADB) is a Disciplinary Tribunal established under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) (ASIC Act) and is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). The Board is required to comply with the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requirements and this agency plan (Plan) describes how CADB proposes to do this, as required by s8(1)(a) of the FOI Act.
This agency plan outlines:
- what information CADB publishes currently and what it proposes to publish in future and the means by which this information will be published (on its website); and
- how CADB otherwise proposes to comply with the requirements of the IPS.
CADB is a small independent unincorporated government organisation which receives support in the form of staff and support facilities from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in accordance with s11(2)(a) of the ASIC Act. The main contact for this scheme and any FOI enquiries is CADB's Registrar. Please direct any feedback or complaints in relation to this Plan to CADB's Registrar, contact details for whom can be found on the contact page.
CADB is assisted by Treasury FOI officers in responding to FOI enquiries. CADB will act consistently with the principles in the Treasury IPS Agency Plan, unless they are clearly inapplicable to CADB.
What CADB currently publishes
CADB publishes among other things, the following:
- details of CADB's structure, as required under s8(2)(b) of the FOI Act;
- details of CADB's functions, including its decision-making powers, its processes in deciding Applications and other powers affecting members of the public, as required under s8(2)(c) of the FOI Act;
- details of the appointment of CADB's Chairperson and Members, as required under s8(2)(d) of the FOI Act;
- CADB's annual reports, as required under s8(2)(e) of the FOI Act;
- contact details for an officer who can be contacted about access to CADB's information or documents under this Act, as required by s8(2)(i) of the FOI Act; and
- details of operational information, as required under s8(2)(j) of the FOI Act, including:
- how applications are made to CADB;
- decisions of CADB;
- an index of CADB decisions and reasons from 2008 to date;
- practice and procedure manuals and guidelines; and
- an overview of CADB's Practices and Procedures.
What CADB proposes to publish
When relevant CADB proposes to publish the following, among other things:
- details of arrangements for members of the public to comment on specific policy proposals for which CADB is responsible, including how (and to whom) those comments may be made, as required by s8(2)(f) of the FOI Act. CADB is currently not responsible for any policy proposals;
- documents which CADB routinely gives access to in response to requests under Part III of the FOI Act[1] as required under s8(2)(g) of the FOI Act; and
- information routinely provided to Parliament, as required under s8(2)(h) of the FOI Act. CADB does not routinely provide information to Parliament other than its Annual Report which is published on its website.
Other compliance issues
The Registrar and Chairperson of CADB, will monitor compliance with the IPS and other FOI requirements. CADB proposes to review compliance from time to time, preferably on a 12 monthly basis, and will take into account any public feedback.
CADB may charge a person for accessing IPS information other than through the website to reimburse agency costs. These charges will be consistent with the charges in the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982.
CADB will publish any new IPS documents as soon as they are available for publication.
CADB will seek to ensure that:
- The information provided under the IPS is easily discoverable, understandable, machine-readable, re-usable and transformable and
- Ensure the format conforms where possible to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2 (Web 2.0) and provide alternative access arrangements.
CADB’s website is maintained by the Registrar, with support from ASIC staff.
[1] Releases under FOI will be published on CADB's website. One request has been made to CADB for the release of documents under Part III of the FOI Act, however no documents were required to be released.