Right to information and information privacy | Redland City Council
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Right to information and information privacy

Your right to information

Redland City Council is committed to providing the community with open and transparent access to information in relation to its services, activities and business operations. To fulfil our commitment, we operate in accordance with the requirements of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act). The RTI Act promotes the release of information by Council unless this information is exempt, or its release would be contrary to the public interest.

Quick links

What is Right to Information and Information Privacy?

The RTI Act gives people the right to access documents held by Council that are not usually publically available and which contain information that is 'non-personal'.

The IP Act gives you a right to access and amend your personal information and outlines how Council manages your personal information. 

Find out more about how we manage personal information by viewing our Privacy statement.

How do I access information held by Council?

Before starting the application process, check to see if the information is already available. Most information on our website can be viewed or downloaded free-of-charge.

If you are having difficulty accessing documents from our website, please contact us to request access to the information in another suitable format, such as hard-copy or CD. If there are any copying fees or other charges we will inform prior to your request being processed.

You can use any of the following methods to find information:

  • View the documents published in our Publication Scheme
    You can learn about Our organisation, Our online services, Our finances, Our priorities, Our decisions, Our policies and Our lists and registers.
  • Search our website
    Can't find what you are looking for on our website? Try using our search box located on each webpage.
  • Use Development.i
    Find information about past and current application details and basic property information for the Redland City Council Local Government area.
  • Use our interactive Red-e-map
    Find anything from a barbecue for a picnic, or where to walk your dog.
  • Search the Redland libraries catalogue
    Search for publications produced by Redland City.
  • View the disclosure log
    The disclosure log contains details about documents released in response to applications made under the RTI Act. Access to documents can be requested by contacting us.
  • Contact us
    If the information you are searching for is not already published, we'll check whether we hold the information and can provide it to you via administrative access release.
  • Search for Redland City's records
    Search for historic records of previous councils which we have transferred to Queensland State Archives.
  • View our history
    Discover details about our local history and heritage.

Making an application for access to documents through a formal process

Sometimes, we can only release information through the formal RTI/IP process. 

If the information you seek is not available in another way (even if a charge is applicable) then you will need to make a formal access application under the RTI Act or the IP Act. Please contact us prior to making an application if you have any questions. In some cases there may be another way of giving you access to the documents you want, without having to make a formal application.

Applications to access information held by Council under the RTI Act and IP Act are made by completing the Right to Information and Information Privacy Access Application form [PDF, 0.2MB]. Applications to amend your personal information are made by completing the Information Privacy Personal Information Amendment form [PDF, 0.1MB].

Please send your completed RTI/IP application form to ethics.integrity@redland.qld.gov.au, or post to our postal address at PO Box 21, Cleveland, 4163. 

Fees and charges

On 28 May 2024, Council started charging a portion of the bank surcharges we incur when payments are made using a card. To avoid this surcharge, payment can be made via BPAY for RTI application fees or processing charges. 

Further details about this charge are available here: Credit and Debit Card Surcharge.

RTI applications

Charges are set by the State Government. From 29 January 2020, to protect the integrity of sensitive cardholder details, including security codes and other related card data, the Queensland Government removed the section for providing credit card details from the prescribed application form. Council continues to accept credit card payments, please see details below:

  • Application fee of $55.75 for 2024/25 (unchanged from 2023/24) is payable at time of submitting the application form.
    • In person - pay via cash, cheque, Eftpos or credit card at one of our Customer Service Centres; or
    • Via email to ethics.integrity@redland.qld.gov.au – to pay via credit card, please ensure you provide your contact telephone number in the space provided on the application form.  An officer from the Ethics & Integrity Unit will contact you on receipt of your application to arrange for payment of the fee.
    • Via mail – enclose your cheque – if no cheque is received with your application, an officer from the Ethics & Integrity Unit will respond with details of how to pay via credit card.
  • Processing charges apply if your application takes more than five hours. For 2024/25 the fee remains at $8.65 for each 15 minutes, or part thereof, spent processing your application ($34.60 per hour). Council will provide you with a charges estimate notice if this is going to be applicable.
  • If you have a healthcare card or a concession card, a written application can be made to have the processing and/or access charges waived.
  • We provide documents free of charge on CD. If you require printed copies of the documents an A4 black and white photocopy is $0.25 per page.

IP applications

  • You do not pay an application fee or processing charges.
  • You need to provide identification 
  • We provide documents free of charge on CD. If you require printed copies of the documents an A4 black and white photocopy is $0.25 per page.

How long will it take to process the application?

The RTI Act and IP Act allow Council 25 business days to process an application but this can be extended in some circumstances. For example, if we need to consult with third parties, the size and complexity of your application and current workloads within the unit.

Disclosure log

Documents released in response to applications made under the Right to Information Act 2009 are contained in Council's Disclosure Log.

Certain information, for example, personal information or information otherwise excluded by law from release will have been removed prior to release, therefore will not be contained in the documents available to access.  

Accessing released documents

To access released documents please select the disclosure log period from the list below you will then be able to select an application and download the documents. If you have any questions you can contact Council's Right to Information and Privacy Unit by phone or email:

Ethics & Integrity Unit
Phone: (07) 3829 8811
Email ethics.integrity@redland.qld.gov.au 

Disclosure Logs by financial year are available below.

Complaints and disclosure of personal information

Definitions:

  • Complainant – the person making the complaint
  • Respondent – the person the complaint is about and who Council is investigating
  • Disclosure – providing or releasing personal information to a third party

What is personal information?

Under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act), personal information is ‘information or an opinion … about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion’.

If you have made a complaint or you have had a complaint made about you the following will assist if you are now applying to access documents about that complaint.

Council collects personal information as part of its statutory responsibilities and standard business practices including in order to investigate and assess complaints. Information is collected in accordance with the IP Act and privacy principles and personal information will not be disclosed unless you gave consent or the disclosure is required or authorised by law.

Disclosing another person’s personal information or information that can establish that person’s identity has been found in some cases to be contrary to the public interest. It is unlikely you will be given access to all documents, only documents that contain your personal information and procedural documents.

Information regarding the progress of an investigation by Council

Often a complainant will want to be kept informed of the progress of the investigation by Council, however, providing information about the investigation can involve disclosure of personal information.

At the start of an investigation, the investigating officer may advise the respondent that it is Council’s usual practice to disclose information about the progress of the investigation, and its outcome, to the complainant.

The respondent is encouraged to contact the investigating officer if they have any concerns about the information likely to be disclosed.

More information

Detailed information about Right to Information and Information Privacy is available on the following websites:

Related links

External websites