RTI and privacy obligations of ministerial staff

Queensland Ministers have obligations under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act) and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act).  These obligations will generally be met by Ministerial staff or by appropriately authorised departmental officers.

Informal access to government information

The RTI Act provides that government information should be released informally wherever possible because formal access under the RTI Act is intended as a last resort.  Informal release will generally not be possible where the information is, for example, private, confidential, legally privileged or subject to Cabinet confidentiality.  Where the nature of the information makes it unsuitable for informal release, the requester will need to make a formal RTI application to access the documents.

Documents of a Minister

• Queensland Privacy Principle (QPP) 3 applies when collecting personal information. It states that personal information reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, a function or activity may be collected and it must be collected lawfully and fairly. It should be collected from the individual unless an exception applies or doing so is not reasonably practicable. Individuals must be made aware why and under what authority their personal information is being collected and to whom the information may be disclosed.
• QPP 11 requires that personal information is stored securely based on its sensitivity and deidentified or destroyed when no longer needed, subject to public records obligations.
• QPPs 12 and 13 allow people to access and correct their personal information, and QPP 10 require reasonable steps to be taken to ensure personal information held, used or disclosed is accurate, and that only relevant personal information is used or disclosed.
• QPP 6 regulates the use and disclosure of personal information. It provides that personal information can be used or disclosed for the reason it was collected or for any of QPP 6’s secondary purposes, eg where is a legal authority, the use or disclosure is necessary for law enforcement purposes, or the individual has consented.
• Section 33 limits the circumstances when personal information may be disclosed outside of Australia.
• Chapter 2, part 3 requires contractors to be bound to follow the privacy principles if they handle personal information for the Minister.

A breach of the privacy principles can result in a privacy complaint being made to the Minister, compliance action under the IP Act, or an order by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for compensatory payments to the individual affected.