Right to Information & Information Privacy

In addition to the information we publish publicly on our website and via our Publications Scheme, you can request access through administrative release or established release procedures. Documents released by administrative process (except for official transcripts) are released free of charge. Administrative access refers to the release of information by means other than through formal applications under the RTI or IP Acts.

Administrative release requests: Submit the request to:

rti@griffith.edu.au or 07 3735 5586

Please clearly specify which documents you are requesting access to. Responding to broadly worded requests involves significant time, effort and cost and accordingly the application may be refused as an unreasonable diversion of the University’s resources as described below. A decision about whether or not documents will be released by administrative process will generally be made within 7 days from the date of receipt.

Requests for administrative release of documents may be refused particularly in circumstances where:

• the claim for documents is so broad that responding to it would involve an unreasonable diversion of the University’s resources
• the claim involves access to a third party individual’s personal information and release would be an invasion of that individual’s privacy
• the request is made in relation to documents that are subject to legal professional privilege
• releasing the documents might constitute a breach of confidence, prejudice the University’s ability to obtain confidential information or affect confidential communications
• releasing the documents might prejudice the private, business, professional, commercial, or financial affairs of the University
• releasing the documents might involve the disclosure of trade secrets of the University, and/or information of commercial value to the University or another person, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to destroy or diminish the commercial value of the information
• the disclosure of the documents could prejudice the effectiveness of a method or procedure for the administration of tests or examinations by the University
• the document does not exist or is un-locatable
• the document is commercially available

If your request for an administrative release of documents is refused and you wish to persist, you may make a right to information request or an information privacy access application.

Other administrative options include:

• For your official academic record (transcript), testamur, official letter (to confirm your progress with potential employers, etc.) or Australia Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS), go to Documents and Verification for information and instructions.
• For access to your finance, contact, and emergency contact information, as well as program, CareerHub, Staff information, and learning and teaching information (such as course calendar, unofficial academic record, assessment scores, etc.), access MyGriffith and/or the Griffith Staff Portal.
• Personal information held by certain areas of the University (such as health services, counselling services, or disability services) can be obtained by contacting those areas directly and following their access procedures.

If you want to request access to documents that contain personal information about someone other than yourself or information about Griffith University, you must lodge an RTI request in writing on the approved application form.

Your application must:

• be on the approved application form
• provide sufficient information concerning the document/s to enable the University to identify the document/s
• state the address for the delivery of notices and documents to which you seek access;
• submit the correct application fee here.

Also, you may be required to pay for processing and photocopying charges. If you are required to pay these charges, the University will advise you of estimated costs.

Upon receipt of your application, a determination will be made by the Chief Operating Officer about whether the information you have sought is appropriate for administrative release. If it is, the information will be sent to you and your payment will be refunded. If it is not, you will receive a notification from us that it has been received and is being processed as an RTI application.

Further information is available on the Queensland Government's Right to Information and Information Privacy website.

If you would like to access or amend the personal information Griffith University holds about you, we will respond to your request free of charge under the Information Privacy Act (although other charges may occur, for example, if extensive photocopying is required).

We will do some follow-up with you to verify your identity before you are granted access to the information and may suggest an administrative access route if one is available.

How to make an IP Act request:

Step 1: Complete the approved application form

Step 2: Submit suitable evidence of identification.

If you are seeking access to documents that contain personal information either in relation to you or on behalf of another person, you must provide evidence of your identity (or of their identity and your authority to act) with the application or within 10 business days of making the application.

If you are applying:

• by post — attach a certified copy of your identification document to this application form.
• in person — produce the original identification document for the RTI officer to sight.
• by email — post a certified copy of the identification document using the Privacy Officer contact information or follow the instructions in a response email giving you instructions on how to securely submit a certified copy online.

A certified copy is considered valid if it is witnessed by a lawyer or notary public, a commissioner for declarations or a justice of the peace or in the case of a prisoner, a corrective services officer.

Documents that provide sufficient evidence of identity include:

• Current driver’s licence
• Identifying page of current passport
• Birth certificate
• Copy of a prisoner’s identity card certified by a corrective services officer
• Statutory declaration of an individual who has known the applicant for at least one year (A declaration template can be downloaded at www.court.qld.gov.au/forms)

Step 3: Upon Griffith's receipt of the application, several things will happen.

• The Privacy Officer will make a determination about whether or not the information you seek is appropriate for administrative release.
• We will contact you if we need more information to process your request. If you do not give us the requested information, we will refuse to process it due to noncompliance.
• When your application is complete, we will send written acknowledgement.
• We must decide applications within 25 business days. This period may be extended by 10 business days if we need to consult with another person or agency.  We may negotiate an extension with you if there are problems with locating documents or staff availability.
• If we do not make a decision by the end of the processing period, the IP Acts deems us to have refused your request, and you may then apply to the Information Commissioner for an external review.
• Most decisions under the IP Act are reviewable. Applications for review should be submitted within 20 business days of the date of the notice of decision; a full explanation of review rights is included in the notice of decision we send you. For more information about reviews, please visit the FAQs below.

This notice informs you of Griffith University’s information privacy practices with regard to the receipt and processing of information access requests it receives.

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether or not the information/opinion is true.

Griffith University collects personal information for the purpose of processing applications under the Right to Information Act 2009 and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) for the purposes of verifying an individual’s identity, searching records and conferring with relevant parties, and for general administrative purposes including reporting, performance improvement, and assessing statutory compliance. Any personal information collected in the processing of an application will be managed in accordance with the IP Act.

Under the RTI and IP Acts, your personal information may be disclosed to other Queensland Government agencies for the purposes of transferring all or part of your application if necessary. As provided for under the RTI and IP Acts, it may also be disclosed to other parties (such as legal counsel) for the purpose of ascertaining their views on disclosure of the documents. Your personal information may also be provided to monitoring and appeal bodies, including the Information Commissioner, for the purpose of participating in any external review or appeal processes relating to your application or for monitoring of the University’s compliance with the legislation.

Griffith University’s full privacy notice regarding its information practices is available in the University’s Privacy Statement; this collection notice governs where there are any differences.