Welcome to the new BHI website. During its staged implementation, earlier reports not available on this site can be accessed on the old website.

Right to information

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 NSW (GIPA Act) creates rights to information produced by NSW government agencies, including the Bureau of Health Information (BHI). It is designed to meet community expectations of more open and transparent government.

The Act promotes openness, accountability and transparency, and encourages the proactive release of information, unless there is a legitimate public interest against disclosure.

You can find out how to access information held by BHI in our Agency Information Guide on this page.

Agency Information Guide

BHI’s Agency Information Guide has been produced in accordance with Section 20 of the Government
Information (Public Access) Act 2009 and is reviewed annually.

The purpose of the document is to provide members of the public with information including:

  • BHI’s structure and functions
  • the way in which BHI’s functions affect members of the public
  • how members of the public can provide feedback
  • the information held by BHI, and
  • the information BHI makes publicly available.

About BHI

See Our role, What we do and Our people for information about BHI’s corporate structure and functions.

The way in which our functions affect members of the public

BHI reports independently on how the public healthcare system in NSW is performing.

Reporting this information to the public serves several purposes. It enhances transparency and strengthens accountability of the health system, and supports system-wide and local improvements in patients’ healthcare experiences and outcomes.

Stakeholder engagement and collaboration

BHI fulfils its statutory functions with editorial independence from the NSW Government, and with an independent voice in the media. With this platform of independence, BHI engages closely with clinical, consumer, managerial and policy stakeholders to understand and seek to respond to their information needs. We also work with them to drive awareness and support use of BHI’s information to help improve care for patients.

Feedback and questions

For information on how to provide feedback, please see Contact us.

Information held by BHI

All BHI reports and information products are available, free of charge, on this website.

BHI reports use administrative data from hospitals and data from the NSW Patient Survey Program. We interpret results, present them clearly and widely disseminate our findings. BHI has established thorough processes of measuring performance and activity following consultation with the appropriate subject matter experts and data custodians to ensure the highest level of relevance and accuracy of calculated measures.

Some of the data we use in our reports is sourced from databases held by other organisations such as the NSW Ministry of Health and NSW Ambulance. If you are seeking data that BHI conducts analyses on, you may need to approach the organisation that is responsible for that data, if it was sourced externally. Full data references are available in each report.

How to access BHI’s information

Open access information
Proactive release

All published BHI reports and information are available free of charge on this website. This information includes:

  • Reports on the NSW public healthcare system, including performance profiles for hospitals and local health districts
  • Data on the BHI Data Portal
  • Reports and data from the NSW Patient Survey program
  • BHI's corporate reports
  • Media releases
Informal release

You can make a request at any time for other information held by BHI via a data request. Please see Contact us for information on how to do so.

Formal access application

Under Part 4 of the GIPA Act, BHI can release information in response to a formal access application. This is the last resort for obtaining BHI information if it is not available in any other way. Generally, a Formal Access Application is required if your application involves:

  • a large volume of information,
  • sensitive or confidential information
  • extensive research and substantial resources are required, or
  • the information requested relates to third parties who will need to be consulted prior to release of the information.

Applications must be in writing and accompanied by a $30 fee. Processing charges of $30 per hour may also be levied, depending on the type and amount of information sought.

To make a formal access application, please complete the application form and send it to:

Right to Information Officer
Bureau of Health Information
1 Reserve Road
St Leonards NSW 2065
Australia

Gifts of Government Property

The NSW Health Gifts of Government Property register is maintained to meet the requirements of the Treasurer’s Direction TD21-04 ‘Gifts of government property’, which specifies the circumstances in which a gift of government property may be made, ensures gifts are made in accordance with specified values and associated principles, and that agencies maintain a record of gifts made.

All NSW Health entities are required to certify the accuracy and completeness of the contents of this register. Where a NSW Health entity is not named within the register, it should be taken that the entity did not make any gifts of government property, greater than $10,000, during the period.

This register is certified by the NSW Health Secretary, in her capacity as the Accountable Authority for all NSW Health entities. It is reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee and published annually.

The register has been redacted to exclude any personal information as defined under Section 4 of the Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

Copies of the Gifts of Government Property registers

Statutory Acts of Grace

The NSW Health Statutory Acts of Grace register is maintained to meet the requirements of the Treasury Circular TC22-01 ‘Statutory Act of Grace Payments’, which specifies the circumstances in which a payment may be made, explains the power to delegate and requires GSF agencies to maintain a record of the payments made.

All NSW Health entities are required to certify the accuracy and completeness of the contents of this register. Where a NSW Health entity is not named within the register, it should be taken that the entity did not make any statutory acts of grace payments during the period.

This register is certified by the NSW Health Secretary, in her capacity as the Accountable Authority for all NSW Health entities. It is reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee and published annually.

The register has been redacted to exclude any personal information as defined under Section 4 of the Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

Copies of the Statutory Acts of Grace registers are available on the NSW Health website.