Under the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act), anyone can apply to access documents of Queensland government agencies or Ministers. Under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act), individuals can apply to access or amend documents that contain their personal information.
There are some limitations, however, and some documents are excluded from the Acts.
What are RTI processing documents?
When you apply to an agency under the RTI or IP Act, the agency will generate and receive a number of documents as part of processing your application. These documents are called RTI processing documents.
Can I apply for my RTI processing documents?
No. RTI processing documents are excluded from the RTI and IP Acts1 and cannot be applied for. This was decided by the Commissioner2 and upheld by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.3
This also applies to internal review processing documents if there was an internal review on your application. These documents cannot be applied for.
Can I apply for someone else's RTI processing documents?
No, the same rules apply to someone else's RTI processing documents.
- 1 Under schedule 2, part 2, item 7 of the RTI Act, which also applies to the IP Act.
- 2 T71 and Queensland Police Service [2022] QICmr 10 (4 March 2022), applying the commentary of Hoeben J in Carmody v Information Commissioner & Ors (5) [2018] QCATA 18.
- 3 Stella v Griffith University [2025] QCATA 20.
Current as at: April 1, 2025