From PDFs to public maps

People shouldn't need a law degree to see how government decisions are made. GlassCase makes the operation of law and administration visible, measurable and teachable—turning hidden processes into public understanding. Founded by Jay Spudvilas, the lab builds civic tools grounded in lived administrative data.

Mission

Make decisions and procedures visible to the public: show the path of a right, the points of discretion and delay, and what review looks like across jurisdictions.

Problem

People don't see what happens after lodging a Freedom of Information request, applying for a visa review, or challenging an administrative decision. Policymakers can't visualise where discretion lives or where delays cluster. Law students learn doctrine, not the procedural realities that shape outcomes. The result: low trust and slow reform.

Fragmented systems

Commonwealth and state frameworks

Rules live in Acts, policies, ministerial directions and agency manuals. No shared map, no shared language.

Opaque pathways

What actually happens after you click submit

Process steps, tribunal procedures, review timelines and exemption criteria sit out of view, so people can't anticipate outcomes or navigate systems confidently.

Solution

Open, interactive tools that let people see, explore and learn real administrative pathways.

FOI Process Visualiser

For the public and transparency journalists
Maps each step and delay point in an FOI request using aggregated timelines drawn from agencies and review bodies.

Policy‑Decision Heatmap

For Commonwealth and state departments
Shows where discretion or inconsistency clusters so leaders can target reform and briefing obligations.

Procedural Fairness Simulator

For universities and VPS training
Models how small rule changes affect outcomes using Australian case exemplars. Teaches fairness as system design.

Transparency Impact Tracker

For NGOs and policy units
Scores draft policies for opacity risk using NLP, producing improvement prompts aligned to Australian Government transparency standards.

Legal Decision Explorer

For students and researchers
Converts rulings into visual narratives that link doctrine to procedure across High Court, Federal Court and tribunal decisions.

Why now

Trust in institutions is sliding while open data, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and AI finally make visual transparency feasible. Governments and universities need to demonstrate integrity, not just declare it.

Policy tailwind

Australian Government Data and Digital Government Strategy

Explicit support for civic‑tech partnerships that translate policy into accessible public insight.

Our edge

Live administrative case data + instructional design

Credibility to build tools that are accurate, teachable and publicly valuable across FOI, tribunals, and policy systems.

Model

Hybrid social enterprise: open-access civic tools sustained by consulting, research and education partnerships.

Founded by Jay Spudvilas, GlassCase operates as an open civic-legal lab integrating research, data and public education.

GlassCase.org

Open tools

Free public visualisations and explainers for Australian civic life.

Consulting & Research

Sustainability model

Analytics consulting and educational partnerships that sustain GlassCase's open tools while remaining distinct from its civic governance.

Future: GlassCase Foundation

Non‑profit ABN

Grant and donation intake, research collaborations and scaling projects that support transparency.

Roadmap

2026 Q1–Q2

Prototype FOI Visualiser using aggregated timelines; launch glasscase.org with administrative process explainers and best-practice guidance.

2026 Q3–Q4

Partner with ANU Law/Data Science and a Victorian department; pilot Procedural Fairness Simulator.

2027

Apply for ANU Innovation Seed Fund or Impact Investing Australia; form independent not‑for‑profit entity; release Transparency Impact Tracker beta.

2028–2029

Scale via open APIs and university integrations across states and territories.

Impact goals

10,000+ people exploring live administrative pathways
3 + 2 partnerships with universities and government agencies
Measured improvement in public understanding of process timelines and fairness indicators

Future vision

GlassCase becomes the visible conscience of public administration, an engine room for designing fairness as data—a civic transparency lab that helps people see how law works.

Get involved

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