Your right to information
We can give you most kinds of information, unless there's a good reason not to.
The information can be about:
- you and your health records
- us and our processes.
There are two main laws that govern this:
- Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) is about Queensland Government agencies' information
- Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) is about people's personal information.
Information about you
You have the right to see information about you that we have. If we have the wrong information, you have the right to tell us to change it.
We encourage you to ask for your own records rather than having someone else do it for you. If someone else asks, like a lawyer or a family member, we'll ask them to prove that they're acting on your behalf.
If you're asking for your child's health records, we'll ask you to prove that you have a family relationship with them.
Find out how to see your health records.
Information about us
You can get information about us and how we work.
There's a formal process you can use to apply for information, but you should try informal ways first. It can save you time and money.
1: Check online
The information you're looking for might already be online.
Check these places first:
- Information publication scheme explains all the information we regularly release.
- Disclosure log lists the information we've given out for other Right to Information requests.
- Queensland Health Data page describes the data we collect and when the data gets published. For specific datasets, check the Open Data Portal.
2: Check with the facility
You can also ask a health facility or office to give you the information you're interested in. Contact the facility that has the information.
The staff may be able to help you find the information you need without having to go through a formal process.
3: Make a formal RTI request
If neither of these work, you can make a formal request. There may be a cost, which depends on your request. There's also an application fee that we can't waive.
We'll let you know if we can release the information you've requested by writing to you.
For the form and list of fees, go to Queensland Health's page about making a Right to Information request.
What happens next
Sometimes we're not able to release information. For example, we can't release something if it would be against the public interest.
If you’re not satisfied with the decision, you can apply to have it reviewed. You need to do this in 20 business days from the date on the letter telling you about our decision.
You can also ask the Information Commissioner to review our decision.
Contact us
Contact our Release of Information Officer.
Post
PO Box 5607
Cairns Qld 4870
Email
TCHHS-RTI-Privacy@health.qld.gov.au
Phone
07 3542 6731