The Freedom of Information Act 1999 (FOI Act) provides members of the public with a legally enforceable right of access to information held by agencies, subject to specific exemptions. Under section 9 of the FOI Act, State Government agencies must publish an up to date information statement every 12 months. Information statements are published in the Training Advocate’s annual report.
Office of the Training Advocate - Annual Reports
Structure and function of the Training Advocate
The structure and functions of the Training Advocate are described in our Charter of Functions.
Charter Establishing the Training Advocate’s Functions under the Training and Skills Development Act 2008 [PDF]
With respect to Clause 2 of the Charter of Functions (independent complaint handling processes), the Training Advocate is declared an exempt agency under the Freedom of Information Act 1991 through the Freedom of Information (Exempt Agency) Regulations 2008.
Public Participation
The Training Advocate contributes to strategies which raise the quality and responsiveness of the training system in South Australia. These contributions may include comments on discussion papers, submissions on particular topics and/or providing input into legislative reform and policy initiatives.
Types of documents held
Documents (including correspondence and administrative records) held by the Training Advocate include:
• comments on discussion papers, submissions etc.
• administrative guidelines
• internal policies and procedures
• correspondence in relation to a client’s enquiry
• accounts records
Records are held using a variety of media including hard copy (paper) and electronic formats (emails etc). In addition, the Training Advocate captures information on its Confidential Client Register which is used to manage clients’ enquiries or complaints.
It should be noted that because the OTA is resourced by the Department of State Development, it adopts many of the Department’s internal operating policies.
Access to documents
Access to documents held by the Training Advocate can be arranged by applying to:
The FOI Officer
Office of the Training Advocate
GPO Box 320
Adelaide South Australia 5001
Phone: 8226 4380