ABOUT US
Sydney Opera House is operated and maintained for the Government of New South Wales by Sydney Opera House Trust, which is constituted as a body corporate under Sydney Opera House Trust Act 1961. It has 10 members appointed by the Governor on the nomination of the Minister for the Arts.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
Sydney Opera House is led by a Chief Executive Officer who reports to the Board of Trustees (SOHT) and the Director General of Communities NSW.
LOCATION
Sydney Opera House is located on Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW
OUR SERVICES
Sydney Opera House is one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world with over 1,600 performances each year and is a World Heritage listed national icon. With seven major venues in use 363 days each year, it is estimated that the SOH site is visited by over 7 million people.
The Sydney Opera House Trust is charged with:
- The administration, care, control, management and maintenance of the building and site
- The management and administration of Sydney Opera House as an arts centre and meeting place
- The promotion of artistic taste and achievement in any branch of the musical, operatic, dramatic, dance, terpsichorean, visual or auditory arts
- Scientific research into and the encouragement of new and improved forms of entertainment methods and presentations
The Executive and staff of Sydney Opera House assist the Trust in meeting these objectives.
DOCUMENTS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
FUNDING
Sydney Opera House is primarily a self-funded organisation, receiving only 18% of our annual operating income from the Government. We generate the majority of our income from our commercial operations as well as relying on corporate sponsorships and private donations.
OBTAINING INFORMATION
A lot of Sydney Opera House information is publicly available for free, inspection or purchase. If the information is not publicly available you can apply for it under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). If you are after information or documents concerning your personal affairs, you can apply for it under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Fees and charges apply. They cover some of the cost of searching for the documents, considering whether exemptions apply, copying the information and sending it to you.
Government Information and Public Access (GIPA)
You can request access to personal and non-personal documents under the GIPA Act.
Non-personal documents are documents that do not directly relate to you, including government policy documents, research materials, instruction and procedure manuals, and market research and product testing records. In addition to paper documents, information can be in the form of certificates, files, computer printouts, maps, plans, films, photographs, sound and video recordings.
Personal documents relate to you personally. Examples include documents that contain your financial, medical, education and other personal information. You can also obtain this kind of information through the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Contact the Right to Information Contact Officer on 9250 7111 for more information.
How to apply for documents
- Consider what documents you would like. Would Sydney Opera House hold the documents that you want? e.g. Is the information about Sydney Opera House or about one of the companies that perform at the House. In some cases we will not hold the documents and you will need to contact the company directly such as the Australian Ballet or Opera Australia.
- You may wish to make an informal request for information. If so, you should contact the Right to Information Contact Officer on +61 2 9250 7111 to discuss such a request.
- If you wish to make a formal application for information you can make an official application by submitting a GIPA Act Access Application and payment of the application fee of $30. Click here to download form. Please give as much information as possible about the documents you want and be as specific as possible.
- Enclose the $30 application fee by cheque or money order. Please do not send cash. This fee covers the first hour of processing time. Each additional hour of processing costs a further $30 (unless you have requested access to your own personal information, in which case the first 20 hours are free). We may reduce the fees by half in cases of proven financial hardship, to pensioners, to children, to a non-profit organisation under financial hardship, or where you can show that release of the documents is in the public interest. You will need to provide supporting evidence.
- Post your application to:
Right to Information Contact Officer
Sydney Opera House
GPO Box 4274
Sydney NSW 2001
How will your application be processed?
We will try to deal with your request as soon as possible and within 20 business days of receiving your application. If we need to consult people or businesses whose documents are covered by your application, the 20 business day period may be extended up to 15 business days.
Advance deposits
We may request an advance deposit if it would involve a substantial commitment of resources and significant costs to process your application. You will be given 28 days to pay an advance deposit. The 20 business days allowed for Sydney Opera House to finalise your GIPA application does not include the time waiting for an advance deposit to be paid.
Is any information not available under the GIPA Act?
We will try to make documents available wherever possible. However, you may not be able to obtain documents that are exempt under the GIPA Act, such as confidential information, material that may breach another person's privacy or material that could unreasonably affect the affairs of a business. The GIPA Act sets out the sort of information that is exempt from disclosure. We will let you know the reasons for exempting a document or part of a document.
On what other grounds could Sydney Opera House refuse to give you information?
We can refuse a GIPA application if:
- Processing your request would unreasonably divert our staff from their normal functions. If that is the case, we will help you refine your application so that we can process it; or
- If you don't pay an advance deposit that we may ask for; or
- The documents you ask for are publicly available
What if your GIPA application is unsuccessful?
You can have your application reviewed by Sydney Opera House, ask the Information Commissioner for help, or take your case to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal.
Your first step: an internal review
If you are unhappy with our decision, you can seek an internal review. An internal review is conducted by someone senior to the person who made the original decision. They will review the decision and decide if it is correct. You can request an internal review if:
- You have been refused access to a document or a part of a document
- You have been refused a request to amend a personal document
- You believe that you have been charged too much
- You have been given access to a document but access has been deferred
If someone else has requested access to a document that relates to your business or personal affairs, you can also ask for an internal review:
- If you have not been consulted about giving access to the document
- You have been consulted, but disagree with a decision to release a document
You must apply for an internal review within 20 days of our decision. To apply, write a letter to the Chief Executive at Sydney Opera House.
The letter should be addressed to:
Chief Executive
Sydney Opera House
GPO Box 4274
Sydney NSW 2001
Enclose the $40 application fee by cheque or money order. Please do not send cash. No other fees are involved. The internal review fee may be refunded if the original decision is significantly altered. We should make a decision within 14 days of receiving an internal review request.
The Information Commissioner
If you have lodged an internal review application and are unhappy with the result, the NSW Information Commissioner can assist. Contact the Office of the Information Commissioner on 1800 463 626 for more details.
The Administrative Decisions Tribunal
If you wish to pursue the matter further, you can take your appeal to the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal.
Sydney Opera House Code of Conduct