Key privacy concepts - generally available publication

Overview

The Key Privacy Concepts guidelines are intended to assist agencies to comply with the Queensland Privacy Principles (QPPs) in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act), by providing a guide to key words and phrases used in the IP Act and QPPs.

Generally available publication

Schedule 1, section 7(a) of the IP Act provides that the privacy principle requirements do not apply to a generally available publication (GAP).

GAP is defined in schedule 5 of the IP Act as a magazine, book, article, newspaper or other publication that is, or will be, generally available to members of the public whether or not it is:

• published in print, electronically or in any other form; or
• available on payment of a fee or charge.

Publish means to issue, or cause to be issued, in print or digital formats, for sale or distribution to the public, as a book, ebook, blog, periodical, images, sheet music, sound recordings, or the like, or to make publicly or generally known.^[1]

Only the GAP is excluded

Under schedule 1, section 7(a) the GAP is excluded from the privacy principles. If an agency copies personal information from the GAP into another document, the copied personal information must be handled in accordance with the privacy principles.

However, it may not be possible to disclose personal information contained in a GAP, because disclosure under the IP Act requires that the person it's being given to is not in a position to find it out on their own.

Additionally, if the individual the personal information is about published the GAP, or provided their personal information for publication in the GAP, section 28 limits the application of the QPPs.

Refer to Key privacy concepts – use and disclosure and Information published by the individual for more information.