Basic guide to the RTI Act changes

The Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (Qld) (IPOLA) made significant changes to the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act) and Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act).

This guideline provides an overview of those changes, which came into effect on 1 July 2025. Agencies may also find the Quick guide to the RTI Act changes helpful in understanding and explaining the changes.

Access and amendment applications

IPOLA consolidates provisions relating to access and amendment applications in one Act. Applications for access to documents of an agency¹ are now made under the RTI Act, even if every document contains the applicant's personal information. All applications to amend personal information are now made under the RTI Act.

There continues to be no application fee for amendment applications or for access applications limited to documents containing the applicant's personal information.

A table comparing the previous and current access and amendment provisions is included at the end of this guideline.

The approved form is still available but is no longer required for access or amendment applications. Agencies are no longer required to give the applicant a schedule of the documents located in response to an access application.

New Regulation

The Right to Information Regulation 2009 has been replaced by the Right to Information Regulation 2025.

Timeframes

The way timeframes are calculated has changed significantly because the clock no longer stops and starts.

The processing period is no longer be 25 business days, minus the different time periods which stop the clock, e.g., the revision period when an agency issues a Charges Estimate Notice (CEN). Instead, the processing period is initially 25 business days, and the various time periods will simply be added to it to make it longer.

The processing period will end when the agency makes a decision, or the application is deemed because the agency ran out of time. This means agencies can issue CENs at any time and can always rely on the various time periods, e.g., the prescribed consultation period.

The processing period does not begin until the valid application day, which is the day the agency receives a valid application, or a noncompliant application is made valid.

An additional 5 business days is automatically added to the processing period if the applicant only provides a postal address. The five days will apply even if the applicant later provides an email address.

Internal review timeframes

The timeframe for deciding an internal review is no longer a static 20 business days. Instead, the new internal review processing period (IRPP) works similarly to the processing period.

The IRPP is initially 20 business days. It begins when the agency has a valid internal review application and is extended when the agency only has a postal address, consults with a third party, or asks for extra time.

Mixed applications

An agency that receives an access or amendment application that includes some documents which are not documents of an agency (a mixed application) can ow:

• make a decision that those documents are outside the scope of the Act; and
• continue to process and make a decision on the rest of the application.

This will be a reviewable decision (unless all or part of it is a judicial function decision). The applicant will be able to seek a review of the 'outside the scope of the Act' decision while the agency processes the rest of their application.

Judicial function decisions

A judicial function decision is a decision that all or part of an application is outside the scope of the Act because of schedule 2, part 2, items 1-8: entities which are excluded from the RTI Act for their judicial or quasi-judicial functions. This includes processing documents for access and amendment applications.²

Judicial function decisions are not reviewable decisions. They are only appealable to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

If an agency makes a reviewable decision and a judicial function decision on the same application, the applicant will be able to apply for review of the reviewable decision and appeal the judicial function decision to QCAT. For mixed applications, one or both of these will be able to occur while the agency processes the rest of the application.

Disclosure logs and publication schemes

Disclosure logs

Departments and Ministers no longer have to include application details and the name of the applicant when an application is received, and placing documents on the disclosure log is now discretionary.

For all agencies, there is no longer a requirement to comply with Ministerial guidelines on the Operation of Publication Schemes and Disclosure Logs.

Publication schemes

Publication schemes are also significantly altered. Instead of the previous categories and requirements, agency publication schemes must now include:

• the agency's structure and functions and how the agency's functions affect members of the public
• any arrangements that enable members of the public to engage with the agency's functions
• the types of information held by the agency
• the types of information the agency makes publicly available and how that information is made available
• procedures for asking for information, such as any fee or charge that may be payable; and
• any additional information required by Regulation.

Agencies are no longer be required to comply with the Ministerial Guidelines for publication schemes.

Review rights

The list of reviewable decisions has moved from schedule 5 to a new schedule 4A of the RTI Act.

Sufficiency of search

The list of reviewable decisions has been expanded to include a decision that purports to, but may not, cover all documents in scope of an application. This makes sufficiency of search a specific reviewable decision, which means that internal reviews can be made solely on sufficiency of search grounds.

External review remittal powers

If additional in scope documents are identified during the external review of an access application, the Information Commissioner now has the power to consult with, and refer those documents back to, the agency to make a decision. This power is not limited to sufficiency of search reviews.

If the documents are referred back, the applicant will be taken to have made a new, fully compliant access application for the additional documents, with no access or processing charges payable. The external review will continue, minus those documents.

Comparison table of access and amendment provisions

This table compares the former IP and RTI Act access and amendment provisions with the current RTI Act access and amendments provisions to assist agencies in updating systems, procedures, and templates.