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F/10.1 Freedom of Information policy |
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10.1.1 Legislative obligation 10.1.1 Legislative obligationThe Queensland Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act) places obligations on public authorities to:
10.1.2 PolicyQUT is committed to providing, as far as practicable, an open environment which enables members of the public and the QUT community to access University documents without recourse to formal procedures contained in the FOI Act. To achieve this, QUT has a number of administrative procedures in place for information access by staff, students and members of the community. For a summary of administrative access arrangements, refer to Part 6 of QUT's Statement of Affairs which is published annually under the FOI Act. It is recognised, however, that there will be occasions when it is necessary or appropriate to make an application under the FOI Act, for instance, where third party or sensitive non-personal information is requested, or where there are grounds for considering that the documents may be exempt from access under the FOI Act. 10.1.3 DefinitionsFor the purposes of the FOI Act, 'the University' includes any member of staff of the University and any part of the University that exists or operates by virtue of or subject to the authority of Council (eg research centres, schools, divisions). The Student Guild is not regarded as part of the University for FOI purposes. The FOI Act applies to documents in the possession of or under the control of the University, whether created or received by the University. It also applies to a document in the possession of or under the control of an officer or staff member of the University in that person's official capacity (including members of QUT Council or of other University committees). The FOI Act defines 'document' widely to include information held by electronic means, in codified form, or in tapes, maps, plans or photographs, in addition to conventional paper records such as files, reports and correspondence. 10.1.4 Delegations of responsibilities under the FOI ActFor the purposes of the FOI Act, the Vice-Chancellor, as the chief executive officer of the University, is the 'principal officer', and as such, is the person responsible for QUT's obligations under the Act. The Vice-Chancellor has delegated responsibilities to other University staff as follows
10.1.5 Role of FOI OfficerThe FOI Officer will deal with FOI applicants and liaise with heads of organisational units and relevant officers concerning access to documents. As the Vice-Chancellor's delegate, the FOI Officer acts as an impartial decision-maker whose primary responsibility is to apply the FOI Act in accordance with its requirements, including the identification of exempt matter protecting essential public interests or the personal or business affairs of individuals or agencies. Under the FOI Act, the FOI Officer has a duty to assist applicants. The FOI Officer is authorised to enter into a confidential relationship with applicants or prospective applicants and will not be required to reveal the identity of an applicant to another staff member without the express agreement of the applicant. To ensure that the University complies with the FOI Act, the FOI Officer coordinates other requirements such as publication of the annual Statement of Affairs, preparation of statistics, staff training, and provision of advice to applicants, prospective applicants, staff and third parties. 10.1.6 Responsibilities of heads of organisational unitsHeads of organisational units (including faculties, divisions, schools, departments, independent sections, centres and institutes) are responsible for establishing procedures to locate information held in their areas, and for certifying that all information relevant to the FOI application has been located upon request. In the event that information cannot be located, a written statement must be provided to the FOI Officer indicating that the information cannot be located, and outlining reasonable steps that have been taken to locate the information. Heads of organisational units are also responsible for ensuring that administrative practices in their work area (for example, arrangements for access to documents by clients or others) are consistent with QUT's obligations under the FOI Act, and should liaise with the FOI Officer to develop appropriate procedures where necessary.10.1.7 Requests for amendment of informationThe FOI Act gives individuals the right to seek amendment of personal affairs information held about them, where it is considered to be inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading. In simple cases, an appropriate officer of the University may alter the record without using the formal FOI mechanisms. In more complex cases (eg where opinion or other interpretative information is involved), it is necessary to make an application to the FOI Officer. Amendment of information does not extend to deletion or destruction of records. 10.1.8 ChargingWhere formal applications under the FOI Act are made, the fees and charges specified in the Act will be applied by the University. Where an application relates to information concerning the applicant's personal affairs, no application fee or charges are imposed. In all other cases, an application fee is payable. In addition, for non-personal affairs applications, hourly charges, for time spent searching for documents and processing the application are payable. For non-personal affairs applications, access charges (for instance, for photocopying and for time spent supervising inspection) are also imposed, and the University may recover its costs for giving access in another form (eg viewing or obtaining a copy of a video). However, where the total time spent on an application is less than 2 hours, hourly charges are waived. Due to the narrow interpretation of personal affairs under the FOI Act, staff applications will generally attract application fees and charges. On the other hand, an application by a student for information concerning their own affairs will generally be free of fees and charges. An applicant making a non-personal affairs application will receive a preliminary assessment of charges and may consult with the FOI Officer on options for reducing the cost of the application. In very limited circumstances, charges may be waived on grounds of financial hardship. 10.1.9 Review and appealThe FOI Officer must provide to the applicant reasons for decisions not to release documents, to give only partial access to documents or to refuse to amend personal affairs information. Such decisions can be internally reviewed by the Internal Review Officer. Independent review by the Queensland Information Commissioner is also available. 10.1.10 Administrative proceduresDetailed information concerning the procedures to be followed in making and dealing with FOI applications is available from the FOI Officer and from the FOI webpage . Related DocumentsMOPP F/9.1 Privacy policy MOPP E/6.6 Access to assessment results Governance Services policy on access to committee records Freedom of Information Act and Regulations Modification History
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