what to expect when you apply for documents.pdf

Information Sheet
Information Sheet  –  Right to Information Act 2009  and  Information Privacy Act
2009

What to expect when you apply for documents

This Information Sheet will give you an overview of what to expect after you have
made an application under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act) or the
Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act).1
Note
This resource provides general information only. Contact the agency2 you
applied to if you have questions about your specific application.

If I apply, wil  I get access?
You may not be given access to everything; it depends what you apply for.
Generally, you wil  not get access to other people’s personal information, to the
name of someone who made a complaint about you, or to information about an
active investigation. Information that is subject to legal privilege or confidentiality
or relates to a Crime and Corruption investigation is also unlikely to be released.
These Information Sheets explain more:
•  Applying for complaint documents
•  Applying for medical records of a person who is deceased
•  Applying for workplace investigation documents
•  Crime and Corruption Commission investigation - a guide for applicants
The reason you may not get access to information is because the Acts set out
specific kinds of information that is not released, either because it is exempt or
because releasing it would be contrary to the public interest. Please refer to What
is Exempt Information and What is the Public Interest for more information.
Contact from the agency
The agency is not  required to acknowledge receipt of your  application, which
means you may not be contacted by the agency if your application is valid and able
to be processed.
However,  the  agency  should  contact you if there are problems with your
application, for example if there's something they need you to fix, they need more

1 If you have been advised that your application is not valid or noncompliant then you should discuss this with the
agency you applied to.
2 In this information sheet all references to an ‘agency’ include Ministers, unless otherwise specified.
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information,  or  they need to clarify anything about the documents you want to
access. If you want to confirm your application has been received and that there
are no issues with it, you wil  need to contact the RTI Unit directly.
The OIC Enquiries Service does not have access to your application but they may
be able to assist you in contacting the relevant agency's RTI Unit. The Enquiries
Service can be contacted on 07  3234 7373 or by  emailing
xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.
How long will your application take to process?
When the agency receives your application, a 25 business day processing period
starts. It does not include weekends or public holidays. This time does not start
until you have made an application that complies with al  the requirements of the
Act.
If you  make a compliant application, the agency wil  process it and give you a
decision.  If  your application is not compliant, the agency wil  contact you and
explain what you need to do to make it compliant.
The Acts also give the agency set periods of extra time, for example, if they have
to consult with a third party, or, for RTI applications, when they issue a charges
estimate notice (explained below).
Extensions of time
At any time before their time runs out, the agency is allowed to ask you for an
extension.  They  can  keep  working on your application  unless  you refuse the
request. If you don't want to give the agency extra time, you need to tell the agency,
preferably in writing. An agency can ask for more than one extension, however you
do not have to agree, even if you agreed to the first extension.
Your review rights wil  not be impacted by the agency having extra time to work on
your application.
How much wil  it cost?
Processing charges
There are no processing charges for IP Act applications. If you applied under the
RTI Act there may be processing charges, but they won't apply for any work on
documents that contain your personal information.
Processing charges apply for the time taken by  the agency to process your
application, for example, the time they spend searching for or retrieving the
documents and making a decision on your application.
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If the agency spends less than 5 hours working on your application the processing
charges wil  be waived.
Access charges
There may be access charges under both the RTI Act and the IP Act. These are
the costs of giving access to the documents, usually standard photocopying costs,
but they can be more specialised, such as the costs of duplicating large maps or
transcribing audio recordings. The access charges wil  not apply if you choose to
get your copies electronically, such as on a CD or by email—but depending on
how large the files are, the agency may not be able to email them to you.
Financial hardship
If you hold one of the specific concession cards named in the Acts you, can have
the  processing and access charges  waived  on  financial hardship  grounds. For
more information refer to the Information Sheet Applying for financial hardship as
an individual.
If you are  a  non-profit organisation in financial hardship  you  could consider
applying for financial hardship status from the Information Commissioner. See How
to Apply for financial hardship – non-profits for more information.
Charges Estimate Notice (CEN)
If you applied under the RTI Act, the agency wil  give you a written estimate of how
much your application is likely to cost. This is called a ‘charges estimate notice’ or
CEN and your application cannot proceed until you accept it.
Do I need to respond to a CEN?
When you receive the CEN you can agree to accept the estimated charges. If you
don’t want to do that you can:
•  narrow the scope of your application to reduce the estimated charges
•  withdraw your application; or
•  if you hold a concession card recognised by the Acts, apply for a waiver
of the charges.

The agency will usually give you a schedule of documents (see below) with the
CEN, which may help you to identify documents you could decide to remove from
your application. This could reduce the scope of your application and possibly the
amount of the estimated charge. It can be important to talk to the agency during
this process.
If you narrow or reduce the scope of your application, or successfully apply for
financial hardship, the agency wil  give you a second CEN. When you receive the
second CEN you must either accept it, even if it is for zero dollars, or withdraw
your application.
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An agency can only issue two CENs so it is important to ensure you complete your
discussions with the agency about reducing the scope of your application before
the second CEN is issued.
The final amount you wil  need to pay when your application is complete wil  not
be more than the amount quoted in the CEN. You must pay the processing and/or
access charges before any documents wil  be released to you and you have to pay
them even if you are not given access to any documents.
Schedule of documents
If  you applied under the RTI Act, the  agency must give  you  a schedule of
documents  before the end of the processing period, unless you agree not to
receive one.  The schedule of documents  sets  out the general classes of
documents the agency has found, for example, emails, plans etc.
The agency does not have to give you a schedule of documents if you applied
under the IP Act.
Third party consultation
If an agency intends to release information that would concern a third party, the
Acts require the agency to take reasonable steps to obtain their views about:
•  whether the document is one to which the RTI Act/IP Act does not
apply; and
•  whether the information is exempt or contrary to the public interest to
release.
If a third party objects to release, the agency can still decide to give you access.
However, the agency must delay giving you a copy of the document that contains
the information so that the third party has a chance to seek a review. The agency
should provide you with more detailed information if this occurs.
Decision notice and statement of reasons
When the agency has finished processing your application, it should send you a
letter setting out its decision. Generally speaking, if a decision refuses access to a
document  in full or in part, the decision  notice  must state the reasons for the
decision to refuse access and set out your rights to seek a review of the decision.
Decisions for access applications under the IP Act may also refer to sections of
the RTI Act. This is because the IP Act says that an agency may refuse access
using the same reasons for refusal set out in the RTI Act.

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Review rights
The Acts give you the right to seek review of certain decisions under the legislation.
An overview of these review rights, including internal review and external review,
are outlined in Explaining your review rights – a guide for applicants.
Deemed decision
If the agency does not give you a decision in the time allowed by the legislation
this is called a ‘deemed decision’, as the agency is deemed to have refused you
access to all the documents you applied for.
If this happens, you only have the right to apply to the OIC for an external review.
Sometimes, the agency may ask the Information Commissioner for more time to
work on the application. Alternatively, the application may be dealt with by the OIC.
If you applied under the RTI Act and your application went deemed, the agency
must refund your application fee.
For  additional information and assistance please refer to the OIC’s

guidelines, or contact the Enquiries Service on 07 3234 7373 or email
xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.

This information sheet is introductory only, and deals with issues in a
general way.  It is not legal advice.  Additional factors may be relevant
in specific circumstances.  For detailed guidance, legal advice should
be sought.
If you have any comments or suggestions on the content of this
document, please submit them to xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.
Published 9 August 2012 and Last Updated 15 November 2024
Changes to legislation after the update date are not included in this document.
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