We are seeking your views to inform Australia's preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 20-year review.
Why we want your input
We are leading Australia's engagement in the WSIS 20-year review. Your feedback at any stage of the process will help inform Australia's approach to these international negotiations.How you can voice your opinion
You can have your say by making a written submission below. This page will be open throughout the negotiation period to receive inputs at any stage of the process from interested Australian stakeholders.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your views will help inform Australia’s position for WSIS+20 negotiations in the United Nations in New York in 2025.The Issue
The World Summit on the Information Society, or WSIS, is a United Nations process focused on global digital governance and development. It also establishes an important foundation for the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance.
The original WSIS high level meetings in 2003 and 2005 adopted a common vision to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life, premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These high-level meetings also agreed action lines, defined stakeholder roles and responsibilities for digital governance and development (including for governments, the United Nations and its specialised agencies, and civil society), and established key policy fora such as the WSIS Forum and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The 20-year review of the WSIS, called WSIS+20, will take place in New York in 2025 between member states under the framework of the United Nations. Preparatory processes are underway across the United Nations system.
We are leading Australia's preparations for the review. In line with Australia's commitment to the multi-stakeholder management and governance of the Internet, Australia's preparations will be undertaken in a multi-stakeholder manner, bringing together perspectives from government, private sector, technical community, civil society and academia.
Visit our WSIS webpage for information about the current status of negotiations and how and what to contribute, or to join our mailing list. Further information about the WSIS, including the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda, can be found on the WSIS website.
Participate
We invite you to tell us your views to help inform Australia's WSIS+20 preparations.
Please include:
- contact name
- organisation name, if applicable
- your stakeholder group—government, private sector, technical community, civil society or academia
- contact details, including telephone number, postal and email addresses
- confirmation whether or not your submission can be shared to third parties assisting the Department with Australia's WSIS+20 preparations—or must be kept confidential.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
If you elect for your submission to be anonymous, we would appreciate you still identifying your stakeholder group to enable us to fully consider your submission.
You are welcome to make multiple submissions throughout the review process as discussions develop.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Alternatively please email your completed submission to wsis20@communications.gov.au.
Privacy Collection Notice
Australia's WSIS+20 Preparations
Your submission, including any personal information supplied, is being collected by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts ("the Department") in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
Use and disclosure
The Department will use your submission and personal information to inform Australia's WSIS+20 preparations. It may be used by the Department to make further contact with you about issues you have raised in your submission to inform Australia's WSIS+20 preparations and negotiations.
The Department may share your submission as explained below. The Department will not disclose information to third parties, except in the circumstances outlined below or unless authorised or required by law.
Publication and Confidentiality
Submissions to this consultation will not be published on the Department's website.
Submissions, in part or full, may be shared by the Department to stakeholders assisting the Department, including other Commonwealth agencies or other third party entities or individuals nominated by the Department, for the purpose of assisting with Australia's WSIS+20 preparations and negotiations. The Department will redact any personal contact details of the author, excluding your nominated stakeholder group, prior to sharing your submission or any part thereof with any third party.
Confidential submissions will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister;
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia;
- where necessary in the public interest; or
- where authorised or required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish to make a confidential submission, you must indicate this by ensuring your submission is clearly marked confidential.
Even if a submission is not marked confidential, the Department may choose not to publish or distribute it, or any part of it.
Security and Access
The Department will securely store your personal information. The Department's privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the Department. Further information is available on our Privacy webpage.