We are committed to the following principles regarding public access to documents and information by being: 

• Open and transparent 
• Considerate of the overriding public interest in relation to access requests 
• Proactive in disclosure and dissemination of information 
• Respecting the rights and privacy of individuals and 
• Respecting commercial value of information and copyright provisions. 

For more information, see our Agency Information Guide.  

Information that is classified as ‘open access information’ is publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against the disclosure of the information. 

Under the GIPA Act 2009 certain information is made available free of charge on our website or made available for inspection, this includes policy documents like: 

• Code of Conduct
• Code of Meeting Practice
• Councillor Expenses and Facilities Policy
• Agency Information Guide, and Disclosure Log of formal access applications that may be of interest to other members of the public
• Government Contracts Register and Delegations register
• Integrated Planning and Reporting documents, including Financial Statements and Annual Reports 
• Development and Planning information, including Local Environment Plans, Development Control Plans, Contributions Plans, and Plans of Management 
• Development Applications from 1 July 2010. Access to DAs submitted before 1 July 2010 require a formal GIPA application form, even if associated documents were received before or after that date. 

Open access information not made available

Under GIPA, Bayside Council must keep the below record of any open access information that is not made publicly available on the basis of an overriding public interest against disclosure. The record is to indicate only the general nature of the information concerned.

If the information you're looking for is not on our website, you can make an Informal open application. 

The following open access information is also available by submitting an informal access application form: 

• Land register
• Register of voting on planning matters (check meeting minutes)
• Approval, orders, and other open access documents 

A request for information under the GIPA Act does not include the following: 

• Property certificates
• 10.7 planning certificate
• S735a outstanding notices and order certificate
• S603 outstanding rates and charges certificate  

Register as a user to apply for these certificates on our online portal. 

If you disagree with a reviewable decision, regarding information access, you may seek a review. 

This is an internal review is made by another Bayside council officer who is no less senior than the officer who made the original decision. 

Download and print the GIPA Decision Review application form and pay an application fee 

Lodge your completed form at any of Council’s Customer Service Centres - Payment is preferred by cheque, money order, debit, or credit cards (Visa and Mastercard). Payments made using a credit card will incur a service fee of 0.5% (GST exempt)  

Register of current declarations of disclosures of political donations is another form of disclosure that relates to Council information and can be found on the NSW Electoral Commission website. 

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act) requires agencies to keep a disclosure log as part of their mandatory open access information. 

A disclosure log publishes details of information released in response to access applications that the agency considers may be of interest to other members of the public.  

Details are entered into the disclosure log after the access application has been decided. 

Information released by Decisions of Access Applications