Information: a valuable resource in managing health, safety, and the environment in the offshore petroleum industry
Nadia ArdalichNational Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.
The APPEA Journal 53(2) 493-493 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12104
Published: 2013
Abstract
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is charged with promoting occupational health and safety and responsible environmental management in the offshore petroleum industry and ensuring industry compliance with the relevant commonwealth legislation. For NOPSEMA to exercise these functions effectively and transparently, sharing information through industry experience is integral.
Although NOPSEMA already publishes widely—including guidance material, industry performance data, and safety alerts—it is working towards increasing publication of more detailed and specific industry information, such as enforcement notices. Government regulators publishing industry information of this kind is not new in Australia or overseas and is often used by regulators as a tool for promoting industry compliance.
Communicating and sharing information with industry and the public are important activities of governments. Information sharing can expand knowledge, enable innovation, enhance government accountability and transparency, and even save lives by learning from others' experiences. Recently, the Australian Government has shown a deeper commitment through changes to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, making government information more accessible and open to the public.
This extended abstract discusses the benefits of increasing publication of industry information to promote NOPSEMA's functions and objectives for delivering a safe and environmentally responsible offshore petroleum industry.
Nadia Ardalich has been practising law in the Australian government since 2007. She coordinates NOPSEMA's compliance with the Commonwealth's freedom of information legislation and provides advice to the authority about information-access issues, including freedom of information, privacy, and intellectual property. Before joining NOPSEMA in 2010, she worked for the Australian Government Solicitor, advising Commonwealth government agencies about a range of legal issues, including workers' compensation, Commonwealth criminal prosecutions, general administrative law, and freedom of information. She holds degrees in law and economics from the University of Adelaide. |
References
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Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, 2011—Issues paper 2: understanding the value of public sector information in Australia. Accessed on 26 November 2012. http://www.oaic.gov.au/publications/papers/issues_paper2_understanding_value_public_sector_information_in_australia.html
Suber, P., 2011a—SPARC open access newsletter, issue #153: open access in 2010. Accessed on 22 February 2012. http://www.arl.org/sparc/publications/articles/oa-in-2010∼print.shtml
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