Right to Information and Information Privacy

Balonne Shire Council is committed to transparency, accountability and an open flow of government information to the community.

 

The Right to Information (RTI) provides the community with a legally enforceable right to access information held by Council and other public sector bodies. Council will release information administratively as a matter of course, unless there is a good reason not to, with applications under the Right to Information Act 2009  being necessary only as a last resort. 

 

Under the Right to Information Act 2009, the public has a right of access to information in Council's possession or control unless, on balance, it is contrary to the public interest to provide the information.

Access to Personal Information

You have the right to:
  • access your own personal information held by Council,
  • request that your personal information be amended if it is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, or misleading
  • seek internal or external review of the decisions made by Council about applications to access or amend information. 
 
There is no application fee for requests for personal information. However, access charges may apply in some circumstances. 
 

The relevant legislation is:

These laws 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. 

For further information and a guide to the Right to Information process, see the Queensland Government's Right to Information website.

Administrative Access

Administrative access (also known as administrative release) refers to providing information in an informal way, without the need to make a formal application under the Right to Information Act 2009.

This may include providing information verbally over the phone, via email, or by post. Administrative access is intended to be a quicker and simpler way to obtain information. An applicable fee may be charged for access to information.

When it applies

Council will assess each request and provide access where appropriate, in line with the principles of the Right to Information Act 2009.

To request information administratively, please contact Council and provide clear details of the information you are seeking. Council may contact you if further information is required to process your request.

Administrative access is generally used where the information is:

  • general and non-sensitive in nature
  • your own personal information

A formal application under the Right to Information Act 2009 may be necessary if the request involves:

  • personal information relating to another person
  • commercial, confidential or sensitive information

How to request Information 

Balonne Shire Council

Phone: (07) 4620 8888
In Person: 112-118 Victoria Street, St George QLD 4487
Email: council@balonne.qld.gov.au

Alternatively, you may write to:

Chief Executive Officer
Balonne Shire Council
PO Box 201
St George Qld 4487

 

Making an Application

What is Right to Information?

The Right to Information Act 2009 (QLD) replaced the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (QLD) and applies to: 

  • Queensland Government Departments;
  • Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries;
  • local governments;
  • public authorities; and
  • certain government-owned corporations.

Under the Right to Information Act 2009 any person has the right to access most documents held by Council.

If you have not been able to access information you believe to be held by Council via Council's website, or by contacting the relevant department within Council, you may wish to contact Council's Administration department to discuss your particular enquiry. In many cases, they will be able to direct you to the appropriate channel. If you are still unable to access the information you are seeking, you may wish to make a formal application under the Right to Information Act 2009.

What is Information Privacy?

The Information Privacy Act 2009 provides safeguards for the handling of personal information in the public sector and allows individuals to request amendments to their personal information.

Under the Information Privacy Act 2009, personal information held by Council must be responsibly and transparently collected, managed and disclosed in accordance with the Queensland Privacy Principles (QPPs).

Amending Personal Information

Under the Information Privacy Act 2009, you have the right to request that your personal information be amended if it is inaccurate, misleading, out of date or incomplete. To do this, complete a Right to Information Personal Information Amendment Application. 

When to make an Application

If you are unable to obtain the information you are seeking through Council's website or administrative access, you may submit a formal application. 

How to Apply

Formal applications to access documents held by Council must:

Providing clear and specific information will assist Council in locating documents more efficiently.

 

Fees and Charges

  • There is no application fee for requests that only seek access to your personal information
  • Application fees and processing charges may apply for requests involving non-personal information
  • Further details are available on the Fees and Charges page.

Before You Apply

It may be helpful to contact Council’s Governance team before submitting an application. Council may:

  • advise if the information can be provided without a formal application
  • assist you in refining your request

Lodging your Application 

Completed application forms can be submitted using the following methods:

Post
Balonne Shire Council 
Chief Executive Officer 
PO Box 201 
St George Qld 4487 

 

Email
In Person
112-118 Victoria Street

St George QLD 4487

Need Assistance?

If you have questions about completing your application or the RTI process, please contact Council:

Fees and Charges

Is there a fee involved with making an application?

An application fee applies to Right to Information requests for documents that do not contain your personal information. 

Current application fee (until 30 June 2027):

  • $59.60 per application 
  • This fee is mandatory and cannot be waived or discounted

Processing and Access Charges

Current charges (until 30 June 2027):

  • $9.25 per fifteen minutes spent working on the application (first 5 hours free),
  • $0.30 per A4 black and white page 

When Fees do not apply

No application or processing charges apply if:

  • all the documents you are applying for contain your personal information, or
  • you are acting on behalf of another person, and all of the documents contain that person's personal information

The application form will prompt you to select the type of application you are making and whether the application fee is payable.

Financial Hardship

You may apply for a waiver of processing and access charges in cases of financial hardship.

 

Concession Card Holders:

Application for financial hardship must be made in writing. If you hold a valid concession card, and you are seeking a waiver of processing and access charges, you must show the RTI officer your card (or attach a copy of the card to your application).

Non-Profit organisations:

If you have financial hardship status, you must provide the RTI officer with a copy of the notice from the Office of the Information Commissioner showing that financial hardship status has been granted.

Payment Methods

At Council: cash, credit or debit card

Via Phone: contact Council on 07 4620 8888 to pay over phone. 

Disclosure Log

Council's disclosure log provides documents released in response to information requests made under the Right to Information Act 2009, where they do not contain the applicant's personal information, or are otherwise unsuitable for publication according to legislation.

Date of Application Application Number Number of Pages Topic/Information Requested
24/12/2013 D14/5 5 documents ( 1-2 Pages each )

Minutes of all General meetings 1971-74
Correspondence between Council Land Department -1//1/1973- 31/12/1974
3/4/2014 D14/3842 7 Documents Ownership/Maintenance of Cattle grids – Specifically Pine Park Road
23/6/2014 D14/7318 5 Documents ( 1-2 pages each ) Maintenance Documents /Records Mitchell – St George Road
23/7/2014 D14/8280 23 Documents ( Various number of pages ) Documents relating to flood model prepared and utilised to compile reports, including associated lidar and hydrological data.
13/4/2015 D15/4006 1 Document Funds spent on contractors within Balonne Shire Council from 1July 2014 to date
26/5/2016 ID 3394

Partial Decision Notice

2 Documents

 Results of the request for quote on Bollon roads, namely Cashelvale and roads grouped as North Kulki, Kulki, Bollon-Dirranbandi and Honeymah Lane. List of recipients sought and successful tenders quoted price.
27/5/2016 ID 3413 1 Document

Funds spent on contractors within Balonne Shire Council from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016
27/2/2018 ID 44853 1 Document (1 Page)

Council report referred to in Council Meeting on 21/12 2017, titled Building Our Regions Project. Andrew Street, St George Kerb and Channel

 

Where documents have been determined suitable for release they are provided in Portable Document Format (PDF).

If a copy of the information on our disclosure log is required in an alternative format, please contact us via email or call us on (07) 4620 8888 and we will endeavour to provide it to you in a more suitable format.

Please note that where the decision-making process to delete or redact information under section 78B has resulted in blank pages, these have not been included in the disclosure log.

Publication Scheme

Our publication scheme describes and categorises information routinely available. It has been developed to give the community greater access to information held by the Balonne Shire Council.

All information and documents accessible via the Balonne Shire Council publication scheme are provided free of charge.

Information has been grouped into the following seven information classes:

1. About Us

2. Our Services

3. Our Finances

4. Our Priorities

5. Our Decisions

6. Our Policies

7. Our Lists

If the information you are seeking is not available through the publication scheme, you can request access through Council’s Administrative Access process or by making a formal application under the Right to Information Act 2009.

Some of the documents on this site are currently only available in .pdf format. Should you be unable to read these documents please contact us. We will endeavour to meet all reasonable requests for an alternate hardcopy format of the document, including charging for costs incurred in producing copies where necessary.

Appeal Rights

Right to Review

If you are dissatisfied with a decision, or with the searches undertaken to locate documents, you may apply for a review.

You can request:

  • an internal review by Council, or
  • an external review by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)

Council encourages applicants to seek an internal review first, as it is generally quicker and may resolve concerns without the need for external review.

Internal Review

You may wish to apply to Council for an internal review of the original decision under Section 80 of the Right to Information Act 2009. Your application for internal review must be made within 20 business days after the date of the written notice of the decision.

A person senior to the original decision-maker will review your application and inform you of the review decision as soon as practicable. Reasons will be given if access or amendment is still refused.

Internal Review application can made in one of the following ways:

Post

The Chief Executive Officer

Balonne Shire Council
PO Box 201
St George QLD 4487

Email

council@balonne.qld.gov.au

 

External Review

If you are not satisfied with Council's internal review decision, you may wish to apply to the Office of the Information Commissioner for an external review.

Please also note that you can now apply directly to the Office of the Information Commissioner for an external review of Council's original decision. The Information Commissioner may change or confirm the decision made on your application or try to mediate a settlement between the parties.

For more information about requesting an external review, visit the Office of the Information Commissioner on website http://www.oic.qld.gov.au/external-review.

Further information

All enquiries about Right to Information and Information Privacy should be directed to Council's Right to Information Officers at council@balonne.qld.gov.au or telephone (07) 4620 8888.

 

Back to top