Right to Information

On 1 July 2009 the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) replaced the Freedom of Information Act 1992.

These laws pertain to:

  • The RTI Act covers non-personal applications
  • The IP Act is for access to an individual's own personal information or to change an individual's own personal details held by Council.

Accessing information held by Council

  • Mount Isa City Council collects and stores information about the city, properties, land, individuals, even animals. The legislation supports your access to much of this information, while maintaining appropriate access restrictions for personal or confidential information.
  • We take an approach of openness, accountability and transparency, balanced with appropriate protection for certain information, including personal information. In practice, this means that information will be released unless, on balance, its release is contrary to public interest.

Information Privacy Act

The Queensland Government has introduced the Information Privacy Act 2009 (the Act) which applies to the Queensland public sector. The Act contains a number of privacy principles which set out how agencies may and must handle personal information (including the collection, security, use and disclosure of such information). Personal information means any information from which your identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.

How to make a RTI application

Please complete an application form and lodge, along with your payment of the necessary fee, either:

By post

Chief Executive Officer
Mount Isa City Council
PO BOX 815
Mount Isa, QLD, 4825

In person

Mount Isa City Council Administration Building
23 West Street
Mount Isa, QLD, 4825

Please note that you will be required to provide proof of identity with your application, either in person or by including a certified copy of your driver's licence if you are posting your application.

All applications must clearly identify the specific documents requested and include a return address for notices of the Act to be sent to the applicant.

Payment of Right to Information fee must be paid at time of application, and processing and access charges may also apply. Fees and charges are determined under legislation by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

The Acts requires that your application be made in writing. You may use an official application form which is available at RTI Queensland Government website.

RTI Fees and Charges

Application Fee: $59.60
Processing Charges:

  • If the agency or Minister spends less than 5 hours processing the application – nil
  • If the agency or Minister spends more than 5 hours processing the application – $9.95 per 15 minutes or part of 15 minutes

Photocopying Charge: $0.30 per black and white A4 page.

Limitations on access

Please be aware there are exemptions which may apply to applications for access to information held by us, for example that involve operational and investigation documents. This does not mean that an application to access such information cannot be made. To obtain access to documents relating to a particular investigation, the documents must consist of information about the applicant and the investigation must be finalised. It is possible that parties not involved in an investigation may not be able to access investigation files.

What is considered a ‘Document’ under the Acts?

For the purposes of the Right to Information Act and Information Privacy Act, the term "document" includes files, computer printouts, maps, plans, photographs, tape recordings, films or videotapes and other means of storing information, no matter how old or recent.

Can I see all documents?

Some documents are exempt under these Acts to protect essential public interests or the personal or business information of others. Sometimes part of a document may not be available if it contains information which is exempt (e.g. name and address of complainant/s).

If you are refused access to a document or given partial access only, we must give you written reasons for the decision and tell you of your rights of appeal.

What are ‘personal information’ documents?

Personal information documents include information on any matter of personal or private concern to an individual such as medical records, family or domestic relationships, income, assets and financial records.

When you want to see documents containing information about your own personal information, you will have to show proof of identity.

Contact

If you have any queries about our privacy and security practices, please contact us.

 

Publication Scheme

Our publication scheme describes and categorises information routinely available from Mount Isa City Council.

It has been developed to give the community greater access to information as part of the response to the review of Freedom of Information laws. 

Publication Scheme

 

 

Lodge a Request

Lodge a Right to Information Request

Under the Right to Information Act 2009 any person has the right of access to most documents held by Council. Documents held by Council include paper files, microfiche, print-outs, computer records, files, visual material, and audio recordings.

Applications must be made by completing an application form. All applications must provide sufficient information to enable the identification of the documents requested as well as certified identification of the applicant, e.g. driver's licence, birth certificate etc. within 10 business days of lodging the application. Council will determine if the information or document requested is available under the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009.

Applications relating to "personal information" do not require an application fee.

You will be given notices outlining:

  • That you are required to pay a charge
  • What the estimated charge may be
  • What the basis is for calculating the estimate
  • That you can consult with the agency to amend the application in order to reduce the charge
  • That you must agree in writing to pay the application charge, withdraw or request waiver of charges on the grounds of financial hardship.

Council has 25 business days in which to provide applicants with a decision regarding access for information. There are some factors that can alter this limit as per s.69 of the A

Right to Information Application Form

Lodgement and Payment

 

 

 

Website Privacy and Security

Website Privacy and Security Statement

We understand and appreciate that you, as a visitor and user of this website, are concerned about your privacy and the confidentiality and security of information you provide to us. Mount Isa City Council has a firm commitment to privacy in accordance with the Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government World Wide Websites issued by the Australian Information Commissioner and the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Information Privacy Act 2009.

Information Logged

When you visit this site, our server logs information that is provided by your browser. This information is used to create summary statistics which allow us to assess the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, discover what information is most and least used, determine technical design specifications, and help us make our site more useful to visitors.

The information logged is as follows:

  • the type of browser you are using;
  • the date and time of your visit;
  • your top-level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc);
  • the address of the referring site;
  • your server's IP address (a number which is unique to the machine through which you are connected to the Internet: usually one of your service provider's machines); and
  • the address of the pages accessed and any documents downloaded.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities, unless disclosure is required by law or due to a mandatory requirement of a Court, Governmental Agency or Regulatory Authority. We use the information only for statistical analysis or systems administration purposes.

Collection of personal information

Email correspondence sent to email addresses on this site, or information submitted via web forms on this site, will be treated as a public record and be retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant legislation.

Any personal information contained in emails or webforms will only be used for the purpose for which you provide it. Council will not add your details to a mailing list nor disclose any personal information contained in the correspondence to third parties without your prior consent, unless required to do so by law. Email messages may be monitored by our information technology staff for system troubleshooting and maintenance purposes.

Cookies

A cookie is an electronic token that is passed to your browser and your browser passes it back to the server whenever a page is sent to you. We do not use cookies to collect personal information or to track your activities.

Searches

Search terms that you enter when using our search engine are collected, but are not associated with any other information that we collect. We use these search terms to ascertain what people are looking for at our site, and to improve the services that we provide.

Links to other sites

This website contains links to other websites. Council is not responsible for the content and privacy practices of other websites, and recommends that you read the applicable Privacy Policy of the third-party site.

 

Back to top