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 and teachable, turning hidden processes into public understanding. Founded by Jay Spudvilas, the lab builds civic tools grounded in lived administrative data.

Mission

show the path of a right, the points where discretion lives, the places where delay clusters, what review looks like across jurisdictions.

Problem

People don't see what happens after lodging a Freedom of Information request 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.

Available Now

Consideration Matrix (v0.1)

Diagnostic tool for mapping mandatory and discretionary considerations in administrative decisions. Built from Peko-Wallsend and Li.
View tool →

Redaction Taxonomy (v0.2)

Practical coding scheme for analysing FOI redactions and decision quality. Includes FOI Redaction Logic Visualiser.
View tool →

Findings

Essays and analysis on administrative law, transparency, and civic technology.
Read findings →

In Development

Tools we're building next:

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 structured text analysis, 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 and better tooling 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

Practitioner experience + instructional design

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

Model

Hybrid civic-research model: open-access tools supported through research collaborations, education programs and limited commissioned work.

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.

Research Collaborations & Applied Work

Partnerships

Co-design pilots, applied research and education partnerships that support GlassCase's open tools. These sit alongside the civic-tech work and don't involve operational access to government systems.

Future: GlassCase Foundation

Non‑profit ABN

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

Founder

Portrait of Jay Spudvilas

Jay Spudvilas is an education leader and administrative process researcher preparing for the Juris Doctor at ANU (2026). His work draws on twelve years in public education governance: implementing statutory frameworks (OHS Act 2004 (Vic), Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth)), building audit-ready evidence systems, navigating administrative compliance, designing data systems that survive external review. Research identity: ORCID 0009-0000-0945-0380

Senate Submission 38

2025

Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Bill 2025. See Submissions.

Zenodo Publications (2025)

ANU Juris Doctor

Commencing 2026

Administrative law focus. Building the academic foundation for GlassCase's civic transparency mission.

Master of Instructional Leadership

University of Melbourne

Dean's Honours List, #1 cohort ranking. Twelve years implementing statutory compliance systems in Victorian public education.

Roadmap

✓ December 2025 (Complete)
  • Launched glasscase.org
  • Published Consideration Matrix (v0.1)
  • Published Redaction Taxonomy (v0.2) with FOI Redaction Logic Visualiser
  • Senate submission on FOI Amendment (Reform) Bill 2025
2026 Q1–Q2
  • Expand FOI Process Visualiser with aggregated timelines
  • 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 using GlassCase tools and explainers
3+ 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

Ready to make integrity visible?

Collaborate Partner with us on research or policy projects Contribute Share data, code or design expertise Pilot Explore research partnerships or pilot implementations