About us
Our organisation
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is a statutory body for the purposes of the:
OIC was established under the repealed Freedom of Information Act 1992 (Qld) and continues in existence under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act). The OIC is an independent statutory body with powers under the RTI Act and Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act) to promote and regulate access to government-held information and protect people’s personal information held by the public sector.
Under the RTI Act and IP Act the Information Commissioner is a statutory office holder appointed by the Governor-in-Council, and is not subject to ministerial direction in the exercise of the functions under the RTI Act and IP Act. The independent authority of the Information Commissioner allows the community to have confidence that the role of the Information Commissioner will be carried out independently, fairly, and impartially.
The Information Commissioner is supported by two other statutory office holders appointed by the Governor-in-Council: the Right to Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner.
The Information Commissioner is accountable to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee and meets with the committee during the course of the year to discuss issues, such as, OIC’s activities, work output, budget, annual report, and any other significant issue. The Committee may also require a report on a particular aspect of OIC’s performance, but it cannot investigate particular conduct or reconsider or review decisions in relation to specific investigations or reviews. However, an independent strategic review of OIC is conducted every five years.
While the Information Commissioner is not subject to ministerial direction, under Section 133 of the RTI Act, OIC’s budget must be approved by the Attorney-General.
Executive management team
The RTI Act provides for an Information Commissioner who is an officer of the parliament, a Right to Information Commissioner and OIC staff. The Privacy Commissioner is established under the IP Act.
Our current statutory office holders include:
Information Commissioner
Joanne Kummrow was appointed for a three year term as Information Commissioner on 3 April 2024.
Joanne is an experienced public sector leader and statutory decision maker with a professional career working in the public, legal and integrity sectors. She has a personal commitment to advancing government transparency, accountability and the public interest.
From 2018 to 2024, Joanne was the Public Access Deputy Commissioner at the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner with statutory responsibilities for the conduct of external reviews and complaints made under the Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) and regulatory oversight of agency compliance with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Professional Standards.
Her background is as an administrative lawyer, including with the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, where she advised government agencies, statutory authorities and Ministers on good decision making, investigations, privacy, right to information (FOI), professional regulation and licensing, dispute resolution and the conduct of public interest litigation. In 2015, Joanne led the Victorian Government’s legal response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence.
Joanne was admitted to legal practice in 2002 and accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a specialist in Administrative Law in 2013.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.
Right to Information Commissioner
Stephanie Winson is an experienced executive public sector leader and lawyer with a significant interest and focus in constitutional, regulatory and administrative law matters.
She has advised on information access matters in New Zealand for many years and served as the Assistant Ombudsman Systemic and Monitoring, which included independently investigating agency compliance with information access laws.
Her senior public sector leadership roles abroad include the Director of Legal Services of the Namibian Parliament and the Secretary of the National Assembly of Namibia. In New Zealand she also led various teams performing legal and regulatory policy functions.
She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) with distinction, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and was admitted to practise as a lawyer in Namibia and New Zealand in 1991 and 2002 respectively.
Stephanie is appointed as Right to Information Commissioner to 16 January 2026.
Privacy Commissioner
Susan Shanley has worked in various roles at the OIC, including Assistant Information Commissioner, Director, Regulation and Strategy and more recently as Assistant Commissioner, Privacy. Susan has significant public sector experience in strategic policy and legislation. In her role as Principal Legal Policy Officer at a Queensland Government department, Susan worked on significant legislative reform projects. She also worked in various policy roles in government agencies such as the Public Sector Business Agency and the Queensland Water Commission.
Susan has worked as a solicitor practicing in commercial law for a private law firm in Brisbane.
Susan holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and is admitted as a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Other members of our Executive Leadership Team include:
Executive Director, Corporate and Strategic Services
Zoe Mochrie has been a public servant for most of her working life.
Starting in Scotland, she worked for the Scottish Government experiencing a range of roles on the Fast Stream before progressing to leadership in Freedom of Information, internal consultancy, and international strategy. Since arriving in Queensland, Zoe’s passion for knotty problem solving has seen her major in policy and regulatory activities in diverse domains, from Queensland Health to natural resources to building and construction. Zoe’s appointment as Chief Operating Officer in the Office of the Information Commissioner reflects her firm commitment to openness and transparency in the public sector.
Zoe holds a Master of Arts with honours, a Master’s in Public Administration, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.