Right to Information is the Boulia Shire Council's approach to giving the community greater access to information. We are committed to provide access to information held by the Council, unless on balance it is contrary to the public interest to provide that information.
The Right to Information Act 2009 and Information Privacy Act 2009 came into effect on 1 July 2009, replacing the Freedom of Information Act 1992.
Right to Information reforms aim to make more information available, provide equal access to information across all sectors of the community, and provide appropriate protection for individuals' privacy.
Searching for information
Before submitting a Right to Information application or Information Privacy application for access solely to your own personal information, you should check to see if the information is already available. The disclosure log publishes information that has been released in response to other Right to Information requests, while our publication scheme describes and categorises information we routinely make available.
Some of our information may be released administratively by business units. You can access this information without having to lodge a formal application.
Administrative access may be used for the following information:
- certain types of non-personal information devoid of sensitivity and confidentiality
- an individual's own information but not that of another person, unless consent has been provided.
Where a document contains the personal or commercial information of more than one person, the information will only be accessible through administrative access when all parties have given prior written consent.
Please contact the relevant business unit directly for any information which may be released administratively.
If you are unable to find the information you are searching for, please contact Right to Information Services.
Requesting information
You can request information by downloading the Right to information and information privacy access application form(PDF, 208KB) and submitting it:
- in person at the Boulia Shire Council office.
- by mail, fax or email to Right to Information Services Officer – Boulia Shire Council.
Fees and Charges
There is an initial application fee for all Right to Information applications. This fee cannot be waived.
There is no application fee for Information Privacy applications.
No processing charges are payable if the agency spends less than 5 hours processing an application. If the agency spends more than 5 hours a charge for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent processing the application is applicable.
The applicant is not charged for processing of documents that contain personal information.
The department may also charge a fee per A4 page if the applicant wishes to receive black and white photocopies. No charge will apply to access documents on CD/DVD.
Please refer to Council's Fees and Charges for current pricing.
Statutory time frames
Valid applications must be processed within 25 business days of receipt. A further 10 business days can be added if we need to consult with third parties.
The Council may negotiate a further extension of time with the applicant if additional processing time is required. This extension of time does not affect an applicant's right of review.
Amending personal information held by the Council
You can apply to have any of your personal information held by the Boulia Shire Council amended if you believe it is:
- inaccurate
- incomplete
- out of date
- misleading
If you wish to amend the information, you must first complete the Information Privacy Personal Information Amendment Application Form(PDF, 130KB) and submit it to Right to Information Services Officer – Boulia Shire Council.
Right of review
If you are dissatisfied with our decision, you can apply to have that decision examined under internal review by an officer within the department of equal or higher level. Alternatively, you may apply for an external review direct to the Office of the Information Commissioner, irrespective of whether the department has internally reviewed the decision.
An application to have a decision internally reviewed must be made within 20 business days of the date of the letter communicating the original decision. If you remain dissatisfied with the department's internal review decision, you may still request an external review by the Information Commissioner.
For external review, you must apply in writing to the Information Commissioner within 20 business days of the date of the internal review decision, or within 20 business days of the original decision if you elect to bypass internal review and proceed direct to external review.
Please contact the Right to Information Services for more information.
Contact Right to Information Services
More information
Amendment applications under the Information Privacy (IP) Act 2009
The IP Act provides you with a right to amend personal information held by government if you believe the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading.
Before making a formal application, you should contact the Council as we have a general obligation under the privacy principles to allow you to amend your personal information. The informal option will apply in most cases – for example, where you simply wish to update your current contact details. The Council is required to assist people using reasonable, available and practicable informal options first.
However, if you wish to make a formal application to amend your personal information under the IP Act, you can download the application form and submit your application via post, fax or email or in person.
Information Privacy Personal Information Amendment Application Form(PDF, 130KB)
There are no charges for applications to amend personal information.
In accordance with the Right to Information Act 2009, Council is required to publish details of documents released under Right to Information applications via a disclosure log (where this information does not disclose personal or confidential information, as stipulated by the Right to Information Act 2009 s78).
A copy of Boulia Shire Council's disclosure log can be accessed below.
Disclosure Log - Download(PDF, 177KB)
In line with the Right to Information Act 2009, Boulia Shire Council’s Publication Scheme outlines information that is readily accessible to the public.
Our Publication Scheme
The information outlined in the Publication Scheme is classed under seven categories:
- About Us: Who we are, where we are and how to contact us
- Our Services: An outline of the services we offer, including advice and guidance, publications and media releases.
- Our Finances: Information on Council’s financial status including projected and actual income and expenditure, budget and fees and charges.
- Our Priorities: What are Council’s priorities and how are we achieving them - Annual Report, Corporate Plan, Operational Plan, etc.
- Our Decisions: How we make proposals, decisions, reviews and consultations.
- Our Policies: Documents that outline the protocols on the services and responsibilities we have and carry out.
- Our Lists: Council keep a number of lists and registers on file, some of which are a statutory requirement and must be made available for public view include:
- Local law register
- Roads map and register
- Register of cost-recover fees
- Delegations register
- Register of Interest
- Complaints register
Please contact Council directly if you require further information on any of these registers.
All of the above information is made freely available on Council's website and is routinely updated as necessary. If you are unable to open a document format or where information is required in hard copy format, please contact the Council office. Any applicable printing fees for hard copy documents will be advised to you at the time of request.
In keeping with the aim of the Right To Information Act 2009, it is Council's objective to provide anyone access to Council documents, unless access to that document would be contrary to public interest. If you require access to a document that is not available on this website, please contact the Council office.
More details on Right To Information and Information Privacy, including copies of the acts, are available on the Queensland Government's Right To Information and Information Privacy website. This website also outlines how you can make an application under the Right To Information Act and the fees and charges applicable.
Should you find information included in our Publication Scheme has not been made available, you also have the right to make a complaint to Council about this. Please see our Complaints Management Policy and Process for more information on how to do this.