What is this process for?
Follow this process to make a request for access to your personal information.
If you want to request access to documents that contain the personal information of someone other than yourself or information about QUT, use the Right to Information process.
Before you make a request
In most situations we will give you access to your personal information without a formal application under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). Before you submit your request, check whether you’re able to access the information you’re looking for through one of our administrative access schemes:
- access to student personal information
- access to a staff member's own personal information
- requests for access to personal information from third parties representing staff or students
- employment status for financial institutions or other organisations
- employment and qualification verification for employers.
What can I request access to?
You can request access to documents we hold that contain your personal information.
Is there any information I can’t access?
According to the legislation, we may refuse to provide access to information:
- if it would be contrary to public interest to disclose the information
- if dealing with the application would require a substantial and unreasonable diversion of QUT's resources.
If we refuse your request, we’ll give you the specific reasons for that decision in writing and let you know about your rights to appeal the decision.
How to make a formal request under the Information Privacy Act
If your personal information is not available under one of our administrative access schemes, complete a Right to Information and Information Privacy Access Application form.
Provide as much information as you can to help us identify the documents that are relevant to your request.
Submit the completed form to our Privacy Officer by email at privacy@qut.edu.au or post (Governance, Legal and Performance, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Qld 4001), or in person.
Identification
You must provide evidence of your identity with your application or within 10 business days of submitting the application.
We can’t give you access to your personal information until you have provided satisfactory proof of your identity.
What identification to provide
Identification we accept includes:
- passport
- birth certificate
- driver’s licence
- statutory declaration from a person who has known you for at least one year
- current QUT student or staff identity card.
If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you must provide evidence of identity for both of you, as well as your authorisation to make the request.
If you’re asking for fees to be waived on grounds of financial hardship, you’ll need to provide a valid concession card.
How to provide identification
You must provide either:
- the original document in person to the QUT Privacy Officer
- a certified photocopy with your application. A qualified witness (such as a lawyer, notary public, commissioner for declarations or justice of the peace) must certify the document as being a correct copy of the original.
Processing your application
We will make a decision on your application within 25 business days, or 35 business days if we need to consult with a third party about releasing the documents.
We’ll also contact you if your application:
- is outside the scope of the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld), within 10 business days
- doesn’t meet the requirements, and we’ll consult with you about making it comply with the requirements, within 15 business days
- is for documents that don’t contain any of your personal information and give you the opportunity to have your application dealt with under the Right to Information Act instead, within 15 business days.
If we don’t make a decision on your application by the end of 25 business days (or 35 business days where we’ve consulted with third parties), it is treated as a refusal. This is known as a 'deemed decision' because we are deemed to have refused access to the documents.
What if I’m not happy with the outcome of my application?
You can request a review
If you’re not happy with the outcome of your application, you may be able to request a review.
Which decisions can be reviewed?
You can apply for a review of a decision:
- that an application is outside the scope of the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld)
- that doesn’t comply with all relevant application requirements
- to disclose a document contrary to the wishes of a relevant third party
- to disclose a document without obtaining the views of a relevant third party
- to refuse to deal with an application
- to refuse access to a document
- to charge access charges (but not the amount of the charges)
- to delete certain information before providing access
- to provide access to documents in a different form than what you requested
- that was not made by the end of 25 business days (or 35 business days where we’ve consulted third parties), and therefore was deemed a decision to refuse access. This is known as a 'deemed decision' because we are deemed to have refused access to the documents.
How to request a review
There are two types of review for decisions about access to information:
- internal review, where the decision is reviewed by QUT
- external review, where the decision is reviewed by the Queensland Information Commissioner.
You don’t have to have an internal review before you can request an external review.
For both types of review, you must apply no more than 20 business days after you were notified of the decision on your application.
Internal review by QUT
If the decision on your original request was made by any QUT staff member other than the Vice-Chancellor, you can ask QUT to review the decision. This is known as an internal review.
To request an internal review by QUT, contact our Privacy Officer by email at privacy@qut.edu.au or post within 20 business days of the original decision. It will help the review process if you state:
- why you think the decision should be changed
- which aspects of the decision you’re concerned about.
The QUT Vice-President (Administration) and University Registrar will review the original decision and make a fresh decision on your application within 20 business days. If your appeal is not upheld, we will tell you why.
If you’re not satisfied with the outcome of an internal review, you can request an external review.
External review by the Information Commissioner
The Information Commissioner is an independent body responsible for reviewing information privacy decisions made by government agencies and public authorities like QUT. This is known as an external review.
You can ask the Queensland Information Commissioner to review the decision on your original request if at least one of these applies to you:
- the decision on your original request was made by the QUT Vice-Chancellor
- you’re not satisfied with the original decision on your application
- you’ve had an internal review of the decision and you’re not satisfied with the outcome of that review.
To request an external review, you must apply in writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner within 20 business days of the original decision.
Apply for an external review of a decision by the Information Commissioner
The Commissioner may affirm, vary or set aside the original decision. They can also attempt to negotiate a settlement at any time, including through mediation where possible.
The Office of the Information Commissioner is required to publish details of external review decisions and the reasons for those decisions on their website.
Amendments
You can request we amend personal information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date, or misleading.