Evidence of identity and authority

Under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act) an applicant must provide evidence of their identity for:

• any access application that includes documents which will contain the applicant’s personal information;¹ and
• all amendment applications.²

If the applicant has someone (referred to as an agent) make one of these applications on their behalf, the agent must provide evidence of their authority to act as an agent for the applicant.³

Application is noncompliant

If the evidence of identity and/or authority does not satisfy the legislative requirements (for example, the copy of evidence of identity is not certified or has information blacked out, or the agent's authorisation has not been suitably established) then the agency should follow the noncompliant application process.

The processing period does not begin until the agency has a compliant application, but it is important that agencies contact the applicant as soon as possible if evidence of identity or authority does not comply with the Act.

What forms of ID are valid?

Valid forms of ID under the RTI Act are documents that could reasonably be accepted to be evidence of the person’s identity.⁴ This includes:

• a passport, a birth certificate, or a relevant authority⁵ in the form of a card
• a certified copy of one of the above
• an electronic PDF document⁶ of a relevant authority created using the approved app under the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994
• a digital authority for a relevant authority displayed to the agency under the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994, section 29AI(2)
• a statutory declaration from an individual who has known the person for at least one year; or
• for prisoners only: a copy of a prisoner’s identity card that is certified by a Corrective Services officer.

This list is not exhaustive and other documents may also satisfy the requirement to provide evidence of an applicant’s identity, such as a Medicare card or citizenship certificate.

For documents with an expiry date, eg a drivers licence, if it has expired, it is not valid ID for an RTI application.⁷

Evidence of agent’s authority

Documents that will establish an agent's authority may include:⁸

• a will or court order appointing the agent to act as the applicant’s guardian
• the client agreement authorising a legal practitioner to act for an applicant
• evidence the agent is the child’s parent⁹

This not an exhaustive list and other documents can establish an agent’s authorisation.

Generally, evidence of an agent's authority should:

• be in writing
• be current¹⁰
• state the full name of the applicant and the name of the agent
• set out the scope of the authority to act as the applicant's agent; and
• be signed and dated by the applicant.

Ways of providing evidence of identity and authorisation

Original sighted by agency

If the agency has public facing offices, the original identification documents, including digital authorities, or evidence of authority could be shown to an agency officer, who could make a file note confirming the original documents have been sighted. There is also an area on the application form where the officer can confirm the original identification was sighted.

There is no need to copy the evidence of identity document, however, the agency may wish to take a copy of any agent authorisation.

Certified by a qualified witness

The most common method of providing evidence of identity is by way of a certified copy. Except as set out below, copies of evidence of identity documents must be certified as a correct copy of the original by a ‘qualified witness’. A qualified witness is a pharmacist, Justice of the Peace, lawyer, Commissioner for Declarations, or notary public.¹¹

Under no circumstances can a qualified witness certify their own identification.

As noted above, the entire identity document must be provided, with no information redacted from the certified copy, for it to be valid under the RTI Act.

There is no requirement for a copy of an agent’s authority to be certified by a qualified witness.

Exceptions – prisoner identity cards

A prisoner providing a copy of their prisoner identity card as evidence of identity does not need to have it certified by a ‘qualified witness’. Instead, the RTI Regulation requires prisoner identity cards to be certified by a corrective services officer.

Exceptions - digital evidence of identity

The Queensland Digital Licence app under the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994 (the approved app) allows people to store Queensland Department of Transport issued digital authorities. The approved app allows users to display their digital authorities and produce PDF versions of their authorities.

A PDF document of a ‘relevant authority’ created using the approved app and given in electronic form, eg by email, to an agency does not need to be certified by a qualified witness. A relevant authority is a:

• a driver licence
• a photo identification card; or
• a personal watercraft licence or recreational marine driver licence.

Providing electronic copies

Apart from PDFs created using the approved app, the RTI Act does not specify how copies of evidence of identity documents are to be given to an agency. If the agency allows, they can be provided electronically, such as by email or fax.

The Electronic Transactions (Queensland) Act 2001¹² provides that where a State law requires or permits the production of a paper document an electronic version may be provided if the following conditions are met:¹³

• The method used to produce the electronic copy of the document ensures the integrity of the document’s information, ie the information is complete and unaltered, apart from immaterial or endorsed changes.
• The information in the electronic document will be readily accessible for subsequent reference.
• The person the paper document is to be given to agree to receive an electronic copy of the document.

It is up to each agency to decide whether it is appropriate to accept identity documents electronically, taking into account any general restrictions about receipt of sensitive personal information documents. However allowing these documents to be provided electronically can help simplify the application process.

Dealing with a second agent

On some applications which have an applicant and agent, or a parent applying on behalf of their child, the agent or parent will ask someone else to deal with the agency. This ‘second agent’ will often, but not always, be a lawyer. Sometimes, particularly in the case of a parent applying on behalf of a child, it may be another family member.

There is nothing in the RTI Act that prevents this. For these applications, agencies will need to first satisfy the identity and authority requirements of the RTI Act in relation to the applicant and agent or parent and child. Then they will need to decide, as a matter of policy, what they require to satisfy themselves that the second agent is properly authorised to represent the parent or agent.

Where the applicant is a child, written confirmation from the parent that the second agent is acting for them may be sufficient. Where the applicant is an adult, the agency may want confirmation from the applicant as well as the first agent that the second agent is authorised to deal with the agency in relation to the application. Where the second agent is a lawyer, confirmation on firm letterhead that the lawyer is acting for the agent or parent may be enough to satisfy the agency.

Applications for access to non-personal information

If none of the documents being applied for contain the applicant's personal information:

• the applicant does not need to provide evidence of their identity; and
• an agent does not need to provide evidence of authority to act for the applicant.

However, if an agent applies for sensitive information about the applicant, such as confidential information about a company they claim to be acting for, and the agency has concerns about the agent's authority to act, then those concerns may be taken into account when making the access decision.

Before doing so, however, it would be reasonable for the agency to speak with the agent, explaining those concerns and the possible ramifications for the decision, and ask them to provide proof of their authority to act for the applicant. The agent is not required to provide this evidence, and the application will be valid even if they refuse, as it is not a requirement of the RTI Act.