Accessing information

The Right to Information Act 2009 and Information Privacy Act 2009 came into effect on 1 July 2009, replacing the Freedom of Information Act 1992.

Due to the amendments introduced by the Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendments Act 2023, from 1 July 2025, all requests to access information, including access solely to your own personal information, held by the Queensland Government will be managed under the Right to Information Act 2009.

The RTI reforms generally aim to make more information available, provide equal access to information across all sectors of the community and provide appropriate protection for individual’s privacy.

Before submitting a Right to information application, you should check to see if the information is already available. The disclosure log publishes information that has been released in response to other Right to Information requests, while our publication scheme describes and categorises information we routinely make available.

Some of our information may be released administratively by business units. You can access this information without having to lodge a formal application

Administrative access may be used for the following information:

• certain types of non-personal information devoid of sensitivity and confidentiality
• an individual's own information but not that of another person, unless consent has been provided.

Where a document contains the personal or commercial information of more than one person, the information will only be accessible through administrative access when all parties have given prior written consent.

Please contact the relevant business unit directly for any information which may be released administratively.

If you are unable to find the information you are searching for, please email Right to Information Services at rtiservices@detsi.qld.gov.au.

Requesting information

You can request information by applying online.

Alternatively, you can download the Right to information and information privacy information access application form and send it to Right to Information Services by:

Mail

Right to Information Services
GPO Box 2454, Brisbane, QLD 4001

Email

Email your application to rtiservices@detsi.qld.gov.au.

Fees and charges

There is an initial $59.60 (excl. GST) application fee for all Right to Information applications. This fee cannot be waived.

There is no application fee for Right to Information applications which solely contain the personal information of the applicant and the validity requirements are fulfilled.

No processing charges are payable if the agency spends less than 5 hours or less processing an application. If the agency spends more than 5 hours the charge is calculated at $9.25 for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent processing the application.

The applicant is not charged for the processing of the component of documents that contains their personal information.

The agency may also charge 30 cents per A4 page if the applicant wishes to receive black and white photocopies. No charge will apply to access documents via email or electronic access (e.g. a OneDrive link).

Credit card details will not be accepted for payment of the application fee via mail, email, facsimile or telephone. Credit card payments can only be accepted as part of an online application process or following the provision of a unique Bpoint payment link, issued by our office.

Cheques for these payments are no longer able to be accepted and processed by this agency. Any cheque that is received will be returned to sender and you will be advised to utilise a Bpoint payment link, issued by our office.

Statutory timeframes

Valid applications must be processed within 25 business days of receipt. A further 10 business days can be added if we need to consult with third parties.

The agency may negotiate a further extension of time with the applicant if additional processing time is required. This extension of time does not affect an applicant's right of review.

Amending personal information held by government

You can apply to have any of your personal information held by the Queensland Government amended if you believe it is:

• inaccurate
• incomplete
• out of date
• misleading.

If you wish to amend the information, you must first complete the Personal Information Amendment Application Form and submit it to Right to Information Services by emailing rtiservices@detsi.qld.gov.au.

Right of review

If you are dissatisfied with our decision, you can apply to have that decision examined under internal review by an officer within the agency of equal or higher level. Alternatively, you may apply for an external review direct to the Office of the Information Commissioner, irrespective of whether the agency has internally reviewed the decision.

An application to have a decision internally reviewed must be made within 20 business days of the date of the letter communicating the original decision. If you remain dissatisfied with the agency's internal review decision, you may still request an external review by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

For external review, you must apply in writing to the Information Commissioner within 20 business days of the date of the internal review decision, or within 20 business days of the original decision if you elect to bypass internal review and proceed direct to external review.

Please email Right to Information Services at rtiservices@detsi.qld.gov.au for more information.

Contact Right to Information Services

Right to Information Services
GPO Box 2454, Brisbane, QLD 4001
Phone: (07) 3330 6111
Email: rtiservices@detsi.qld.gov.au

More information

• Accessing government-held information – Office of the Information Commissioner
• Amending personal information held by government – Office of the Information Commissioner
• Right to information and information privacy – Queensland Government