Australian conferences call, and not just David Solomon!

Managing Patient Confidentiality and Information Governance (IIR Conferences) -Melbourne 25-26 June, so hurry. I'm a speaker-as if that will get you across the line! For the record, David Solomon (see below) isn't.

Integrity in Administrative Decision Making  (Australian Institute of Administrative Law)-Adelaide 19-20 July. "An opportunity to consider the concept of the integrity branch, the institutions that constitute it and its health in 2012." Includes sessions on integrity issues featuring Queensland Integrity Commissioner, Dr David Solomon, Professor A.J Brown of Griffith University, and Australian Information Commissioner Professor John McMillan (on "Jurisdictional facts and the Malaysian solution (!)). Julie Kinross, Information Commissioner, Queensland will speak to “Get off the couch!” - The transmission of the public value of transparency through independent merits review, Queensland style".

Creating Open Government (New South Wales Information and Privacy Commission)-Sydney 20-22 August. Program yet to be posted. Early bird rates on offer. Follows the two Right to Know Day conferences in Brisbane in recent years and the Information Policy Conference in Canberra last year. Includes the Solomon (see above) Lecture inaugurated in Queensland in 2009, this year to be delivered by Dr Geoff Gallop, Professor and Director at Sydney University's Graduate School of Government and former Western Australian Premier.

International Council on Archives Congress-Brisbane 20-24 August. Savings for registration before 15 July. I'm exhausted just reading the program! "Rub shoulders ..with internationally acclaimed archivists, information managers, audiovisual and preservation specialists." Two of many offerings of interest are Professor McMillan (see above), Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddard, and Director of the (US) Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives and Records Administration Miriam Nisbet, as keynote speakers on 23 August on "Public Rights to Information and to Privacy" to be chaired by.... Dr Solomon (see above); and Ann Steward of AGIMO chairing a panel session on "Open Government, right to information and recordkeeping: interdependencies and interconnections" that includes Julie Kinross (see above), Queensland State Archivist Janet Prowse, and Miriam Nisbet.

Update-2nd National information Law Conference (Australian Government Solicitor)-Canberra 14-16 November. See here-scroll down, to pdf top right. Early bird rates to 30 June. "Privacy law, freedom of information and related topics, as relevant to all Australian jurisdictions. Digital privacy will be a particular focus, as will be the key issues and practicalities of freedom of information, and recent reforms in both areas at a Commonwealth level." A lot of territory to be covered over three days and plenty of big names-but not Dr Solomon. Richard Ackland of the SMH after dinner, Sean Parnell of The Australian and Geoff Thompson of ABC Investigative Unit (on a topic broached here in January) sure to add valuable "outsider" perspectives. I'm on, with Rick Snell, University of Tasmania and Justin Davidson of AGS, assessing "Australian information law: what kind of shape are we in?"