Accessing government-held information

The Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act) promotes a culture of openness, giving the community access to government-held information. The RTI Act provides a right of access to information held by Queensland government departments, councils, ministers, and other public authorities – unless releasing the information would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.

Ways to access information

You can access government-held information through:

Administrative access:
Agencies may provide commonly requested documents – like policies, procedures or personal records – without a formal RTI application. Go to their website to view published documents or contact the agency to find out what is available.

Publication schemes:
Agencies must publish key information – such as their functions, decisions and finances – on their websites.

Disclosure logs:
A disclosure log lists documents already released under the RTI Act that may be of wider public interest.

Formal RTI application:
If the information isn’t available through the above means, you can submit a formal RTI application to the relevant agency. If you are an individual only seeking to access documents containing your personal information, your RTI application will not require an application fee.

Making an RTI application

To apply for access:

identify the government agency that holds the information, and

check whether the information is available through administrative access or the agency’s publication scheme.

If the information is not available, submit a formal application using the Queensland Government RTI application form (for access to information held by government departments), or by writing to or emailing the agency.

For general assistance and enquiries, please contact us.