Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)
Axcess1 Canada
Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) management, built around ATIA and PA
Built around your law — not around generic case management.
Built around your law — not around generic case management
Many case-management products ask a public body to adapt its process to the software. Axcess1 is configured around the legislation, the procedures, the vocabulary and the reporting obligations of each jurisdiction. An organization chooses its Act once; every screen, deadline, letter and report then follows it.
Generic case management
The organization adapts to the software.
Axcess1
The software follows the legislation and the way government works.
Legislation supported
Access to Information Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1) and Privacy Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21)
| What the Act requires | As configured in Axcess1 |
|---|---|
| Who it applies to | Government institutions (ATIA s. 3; PA s. 3): departments, ministries of state and bodies or offices listed in Schedule I of the ATIA or the schedule to the Privacy Act, and parent Crown corporations and their wholly-owned subsidiaries (Financial Administration Act, s. 83). |
| Time limit to respond | 30 days (ATIA s. 7; PA s. 14). The due date is calculated when the request is entered, with the holidays of the jurisdiction. |
| Extensions | ATIA s. 9(1): a reasonable period for a large volume of records, necessary consultations or third-party notice, with notice to the requester within 30 days; an extension of more than 30 days must also be notified to the Information Commissioner (s. 9(2)). PA s. 15: up to 30 days (interference with operations or consultations), or a reasonable period for translation or alternative format. (ATIA s. 9; PA s. 15) |
| No answer in time | Treated as a refusal (ATIA s. 10(3); PA s. 16(3)); overdue requests are flagged. |
| Third-party notice | Notice under ATIA s. 27(1); 20 days for the third party to respond; 20 days to seek review of the decision |
| Transfer to another body | ATIA s. 8(1), within 15 days |
| Decision and reasons | The decision letter gives the reasons, the provision relied on and the right of review (ATIA s. 10(1); PA s. 16(1)). |
| Fees | $5 application fee for ATIA requests, payable when the request is made (may be waived, s. 11(2)); no fee for a Privacy Act request for one's own personal information. |
| Review and complaints | Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada; 60 days to ask for a review (s. 31) |
| Annual reporting | Annual reports to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act (s. 94) and the Privacy Act (s. 72), and the TBS statistical reports |
| Privacy breaches | Notification is mandatory; the incident register applies this jurisdiction's threshold, notices and time limits. |
Legislation-to-feature matrix
| Legislative requirement | Axcess1 support |
|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | 30 days (ATIA s. 7; PA s. 14): calculated automatically for each request; overdue and upcoming requests on the dashboard. |
| Extensions and holds | Recorded as events that move the due date, each tied to its section of the Act. |
| Exemptions and exclusions | The provisions of ATIA and PA in the redaction editor, each with its section number. |
| Third parties and consultations | Notices, consultation packages and their due dates tracked on the request. |
| Fees | Fee notices and payments recorded on the request. |
| Reviews, appeals and complaints | Recorded on the request timeline with their dates and outcome. |
| Redaction | Done by the analyst in the built-in editor; optional AI suggestions that the analyst accepts or rejects. |
| Decision letters | Generated from templates for this Act, with the provisions cited. |
| Release | A release package built from the reviewed records; redactions are permanent in the released file. |
| Annual statistics | Every part of the Treasury Board annual statistical reports, with a validation report. |
| Audit trail | Every action on a request is recorded with the user and the time. |
From request to release
1Receive and validate
The request is entered with its type, requester and date received; a number is issued from your own numbering pattern.
2Calculate the deadline
The due date follows the Act: 30 days (ATIA s. 7; PA s. 14). Holds and extensions move it and are recorded.
3Assign and search
The request is assigned to an officer; the units holding records are tasked and their answers tracked.
4Collect and review
Records are uploaded (PDF, Office files, scans with text recognition) and reviewed page by page.
5Apply the provisions and redact
The analyst marks a passage and picks the provision of this Act; the released copy shows the section relied on.
6Consult
Consultation packages are produced per party, with their due dates.
7Approve
The response goes to the approver's inbox for review and signature.
8Release
The release package and the decision letter are generated from the request.
9Report
Requests, processing times, decisions and provisions invoked are counted for the period you choose.
Agentic AI across the lifecycle
AI is switched off until your administrator turns it on, one capability at a time. AI assists. Authorized officials decide.
Intake agent
Proposes a new request from a message, the portal or a drop folder; an officer confirms it.
Document intelligence
Summarizes and classifies the records and finds the people and organizations named in them.
Responsiveness agent
Suggests which records answer the request.
Exemption assist
Proposes provisions of ATIA with reasons; redaction candidates appear in the editor.
Consultation agent
Suggests who should be consulted and on which pages.
Quality assurance agent
Checks a package a second time before release.
Deadline watch
Lists the requests at risk of running late.
Copilot
Answers questions about a request, citing the records it used.
Migration
Case history, requesters and documents are brought over from the system you use today, so you do not start from an empty database.
Deployment
Hosted by SoftSim in Canada, on your own private cloud or servers, or standalone on a PC or Mac.
Security
Each organization's records are separate, access is controlled by role and every action is recorded. Run on your own servers, your records never leave your premises.
Try it free for 30 days
One licence, the full product, no obligation. Or see it first in a 30-minute demonstration.
Find Axcess1 for your jurisdiction
Canada
United States
United Kingdom
Ireland
Australia
New Zealand
Axcess1 supports configurable workflows designed around the applicable legislation. Government organizations remain responsible for legal interpretation and statutory decisions. Summaries of the legislation are paraphrases prepared from the published text; they are not legal advice.