Guidelines - Access and amendment

Applications received before 1 July 2025

Guidance on dealing with access and amendment applications received before 1 July 2025

Basic guide to the RTI Act changes

An overview of the changes made by the Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (Qld), which commenced on 1 July 2025

Overview of the RTI Act

Guidance on who the RTI Act applies to and what it means for government officers

Proactive disclosure

Guidance on administrative access, proactive disclosure, and publication schemes

Receiving and assessing applications

Guidance on assessing new applications, including whether they are valid and whether the documents applied for are subject to the RTI Act

Ministerial RTI applications and obligations

Guidance on the RTI Act and Ministers, including handling Ministerial applications, Ministerial documents, reporting to Ministers (and senior executives), and dealing with Ministerial applications during a machinery of government change

Amendment Applications

Guidance on assessing, processing, and making a decision on amendment applications

Neither confirm nor deny

Guidance on the neither confirm nor deny provision, including when it should be used, how to apply it, a checklist and a template decision notice

Refusal to deal

Guidance on refusing to deal with an application because it is beyond the agency's resources, all documents are exempt from release, or the applicant has previously applied for the documents

Processing applications

Guidance on timeframes, fees and charges, consultation, transfer, searches, and dealing with different kinds of applications, eg from prisoners or parents, and documents, eg video footage or text messages

Decision making

Guidance on exempt information, the public interest factors, making decisions about specific kinds of documents, eg recruitment, tender, or investigation documents, and decision making generally, including delegations and writing the decision notice

Providing access to documents

Guidance on how to give access to documents, including information about redaction, dealing with electronic information, eg in a database, access by inspection and copyright

Disclosure logs

Explains the disclosure log requirements for agencies and Ministers, including information that must not be published on a disclosure log

Review under the RTI Act

Guidance on the RTI Act's review rights, conducting an internal review, and search issues and referral during external review

Vexatious applicant declarations

Guidance on the vexatious applicant declaration provision, including information about applying to have an applicant declared vexatious

Protections and offences

Guidance on the protections provided by the RTI Act and the actions that may be an offence under the RTI Act