Right to information

If you wish to access information held by TAFE Queensland, we recommend that in the first instance you check whether the information is already available through our Publication Scheme or Disclosure Log.  

If you are unable to find the information you are seeking through our Publication Scheme or Disclosure Log, please contact TAFE Queensland to discuss whether the information is able to be released via another mechanism (such as administrative access).

A formal application under the RTI Act will be required if TAFE Queensland considers that no other access mechanisms (including administrative access) are available.

TAFE Queensland employees can access and update their personal information through the Employee Self-Service function in Aurion.  TAFE Queensland students can access and update their personal information through the Student Portal. 

 

TAFE Queensland has an Administrative Access Scheme to enable individuals to seek access to their own personal information without the need for a formal application under the RTI Act. 

Our Administrative Access Scheme allows us to handle requests in a streamlined and informal way, and as such our response time is often significantly shorter.  Substantially the same information can be accessed through this administrative process as can be accessed through a formal application under the RTI Act. 

To request access to your personal information through our Administrative Access Scheme, you should email the following to RTI@tafeqld.edu.au:

1. a description of the specific information you are requesting (e.g. ‘a copy of my unofficial academic history’);

2. evidence of your identity (such as a certified copy of your passport, birth certificate or drivers license); and

3. if your request is on the behalf of another individual, evidence of your authority to make this request on their behalf (e.g. an ‘authority to act’ document signed by the person whose information you are seeking access to or a court order appointing you as that person's guardian). 

Please note that some personal information will be deemed too sensitive to release under our Administrative Access Scheme.  In such cases, we must consider your request via a formal application under the RTI Act.  You will be advised if this is the case once we have reviewed your request.

If you are a current or former TAFE Queensland student you can make an informal request for your personal information by emailing the above information directly to the region at which you are studying or previously studied:

Contact Brisbane - RTI.brisbane@tafeqld.edu.au

Contact SkillsTech - generalmanager.skillstech@tafeqld.edu.au

Contact Gold Coast - rti.goldcoast@tafeqld.edu.au

Contact East Coast - rti.eastcoast@tafeqld.edu.au

Contact North - righttoinformation.north@tafeqld.edu.au

Contact South West - studentdatateam.southwest@tafeqld.edu.au

 

Application form

To make an official application for access to information held by TAFE Queensland you must complete a Right to Information Access Application form (RTI Application) and lodge it with the TAFE Queensland RTI Officer (see below for further details).

A copy of the RTI Application form can be found at - Right to Information Access Application (PDF KB)

Please ensure that your RTI Application includes sufficient information concerning the documents for which you are seeing access to enable TAFE Queensland to identify those documents.  

Where your RTI Applications seeks access to a document containing:

• your personal information, you must also provide evidence of your identity (such as a certified copy of your passport, birth certificate or drivers licence); or
• the personal information of another person on whose behalf you are seeking access, you must also provide:
  - evidence of that other person’s identity (such as a certified copy of your passport, birth certificate or drivers licence); and 
  - evidence of your authority to act on that other person’s behalf (e.g. an ‘authority to act’ document signed by the person whose information you are seeking access to or a court order appointing you as that person’s guardian).

How to lodge

You may lodge your completed RTI Application form:

• by email to RTI@tafeqld.edu.au.
• in person at any TAFE Queensland campus (who will forward your application to the TAFE Queensland RTI Officer); or
• by post to:
  RTI Officer
  TAFE Queensland
  PO Box 1910
  Carindale Queensland 4152; 

Fees and charges

There is no application fee or processing charges payable for RTI Applications made:

• by an individual seeking access to documents that contain their personal information; or
• by an individual, on someone else’s behalf, seeking access to documents that contain that other individual’s personal information.

Please note, you may have to pay access charges.

For applications seeking access to documents other than those described above, an application fee must be paid before TAFE Queensland can commence processing of your RTI Application.  You may also have to pay processing and access charges.

For further information about the fees and charges payable in relation to an RTI Application, please visit https://www.rti.qld.gov.au/fees-and-charges.

Processing an application

RTI Applications received by TAFE Queensland will be handled in accordance with the processes set out in the RTI Act.  The TAFE Queensland RTI Officer may contact you if additional information is required before they can commence processing your RTI Application (including where a non-compliant application is received). 

Once a compliant RTI Application is received, the TAFE Queensland RTI Officer will issue you with a notice which provides a brief overview of the process, including any fees and/or charges that may be payable.  You may contact the TAFE Queensland RTI Officer to discuss your RTI Application at any time.

TAFE Queensland is required to process your RTI Application within 25 business days from the date it was received (Processing Period). Please note, if an RTI Application is non-compliant when received, the Processing Period does not commence until the date that the RTI Application is deemed compliant. The Processing Period may also be extended in certain circumstances as set out in the RTI Act, including where your RTI Application involves consultation with a relevant third party or TAFE Queensland has requested an extension.

Once your RTI Application has been processed, you will receive a decision notice which outlines whether your access request has been accepted in full, in part or refused (including a statement of reasons for the decision made) and how you will be provided with access to any release documents.  Access may be provided in 1 or more forms, including via inspection or provision of a copy of the released documents.

Internal Review

If you are dissatisfied with a reviewable decision TAFE Queensland has made while processing your RTI Application, you can apply for an internal review of that decision.

The right of internal review is available to a person affect by a reviewable decision, including:

• the applicant;
• anyone who TAFE Queensland has consulted in the course of dealing with a RTI Application; and
• anyone who believes TAFE Queensland should have consulted them in the course of dealing with a RTI Application.

An application for internal review must:

• be in writing; and
• provide a postal address or email address where correspondence can be sent to you; 
• be made within 20 business days of the date of TAFE Queensland's initial decision; and
• be lodged via email to rti@tafeqld.edu.au 

If you are unable to lodge your application for internal review via email, you may lodge that application:

• in person at any TAFE Queensland campus (who will forward your application to the TAFE Queensland RTI Officer); or
• by post to:
  RTI Officer
  TAFE Queensland
  PO Box 1910
  Carindale Queensland 4152

There is no charge for an internal review application.

The decision on your internal review application will not be made by the person who made the initial decision or a person who is less senior than that person.

Please note, if the original decision on an RTI Application is made by the Chief Executive Officer for TAFE Queensland, that decision is ineligible for internal review.

External review

The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is an independent body responsible for reviewing decisions made under the RTI Act.

An external review application can be made to the Information Commissioner for an external review if:

• you are not satisfied with a reviewable decision TAFE Queensland has made while processing your RTI Application or application for internal review; or
• TAFE Queensland fails to issue a decision notice within the Processing Period and has not sought your approval for an extension.

You may apply for an external review irrespective of whether the original decision has been internally reviewed.  An application to the OIC for external review must:

• be in writing;
• provide a postal address or email address where correspondence can be sent to you
• give details of the decision for review; and
• be made within 20 business days from the date of the TAFE Queensland's initial decision notice or internal review decision notice (whichever is relevant in the circumstances).

There is no charge for an external review application.

Applications for external review can be lodged:

• at https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/about/right-to-information/apply-for-external-review-of-a-decision-about-gov-information;
• by email to: administration@oic.qld.gov.au;
• in person at: Level 11, 53 Albert Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4000 (by appointment only); or
• by post to:
  Officer of the Information Commissioner
  PO Box 10143, Adelaide Street,
  Brisbane, Queensland 4000

For further information about external reviews, please contact the OIC by phone on 07 3234 7373 or 1800 642 753 or by email to administration@oic.qld.gov.au.