Right to Information
Any references to ‘we’, ‘us’, or ‘our’ on this page refer to the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and its subsidiaries.
We reserve the right to revise this page or any part of it from time to time. Please review this page periodically for changes.
About the right of information at UniSC
In line with the
Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (the RTI Act) and the
Freedom of Information Act 2009 (Cth.) (the FOI Act) we are required to release information we hold and amend your personal information, unless there is good reason not to. This webpage sets out how you can seek access and amendment of your personal information and seek access to other information we hold.
Right of information
The RTI Act primarily governs the rights to access information, including the amendment of your personal information. You have the right to apply for access to existing documents we hold, and ask we correct personal information if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date, or misleading. However, these rights are subject to limitations, including where information would be exempt or contrary to the public interest to release. In some cases, the FOI Act may apply and govern access and amendment, e.g., for Tax File Numbers, Commonwealth funding arrangements and federal contracts.
The definitions of Personal and Sensitive Information are in the
UniSC Glossary of Terms for policy documents.
Information access
UniSC is committed to being open and transparent about what we do safely and responsibly. We know it’s important to provide access to the information we hold, but we also take privacy seriously. We balance the public’s right to information while respecting your right to privacy.
Please visit our
Privacy Policy page to read about our privacy practices.
The kinds of personal information we collect, hold, use and disclose is set out in the 'Management of personal information' section of this webpage.
Your rights to information
You have the following rights under the RTI Act in relation to amendment of your personal information and accessing your personal and other non-personal information. You may have additional rights if your personal information is subject to other Australian and international privacy laws.
Amend your personal information
We may check with you that your personal information is complete, correct, up-to-date, and not misleading. However, the University relies on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information to help us maintain our records.
Informal request
You can ask us to amend the personal information we hold through a change of details request to the relevant team if you are a participant, CRO, or sponsor.
This administrative process is at no cost and is designed to be faster than the formal process.
Formal application
This section applies to you if you are a prospective, current or past employee (academic and professional), casual or sessional staff member, council member, or other non-paid appointment (e.g. volunteer), job applicant, visiting academic and researcher.
Legal basis for collection, use and disclosure - our Enterprise Agreements and contracts with employees, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth.), and National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence 2025 (Cth).
You can apply for your personal information to be amended under the RTI Act, when the informal option isn’t suitable. There are no fees or charges for applications. A formal application must be valid and has set timeframes and notices for our response.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland has more on:
- proof of identity and authority, and
- how to amend personal information.
If you are unable to apply, another person can apply on your behalf with proof of their authority.
- Download and complete the form - Amendment Application (PDF 170 KB).
- Submit your application with proof of your identity to our RTI-Privacy Officer by email or post.
If you application is not valid, we will ask you to make it before the end of the processing period.
For your application to be valid it must:
- be in writing,
- give enough details about the document/s to enable us to identify them,
- state an address (email or post), to which notices may be sent to you,
- have proof of your identity,
- where applicable, proof of the authority of someone acting on your behalf,
- state the information to be amended, the way it is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading and the grounds for the claim, and the necessary amendments to be made.
Access information
You can access information through the following information access options. These make personal and non-personal information available to you. Some information is available publicly and other information can be requested or applied for.
Publication scheme
Our scheme sets out information we routinely make free for public access. This has a broad range of information we hold about our operations and activities. This is available through channels such as our websites, publications, and public events.
Where possible, information is directly linked. Please contact our RTI-Privacy Officer if you are having difficulties in accessing any of these or require the information in an alternative format.
No charges are issued for these materials.
What we spend and how
University of the Sunshine Coast's Australian Business Number is: ABN 28 441 859 157
Our policies and procedures span a range of categories and may apply to students, employees, providers, supporters, partners, and volunteers.
Asking for information
If you’re looking for information that is not publicly available through our website, other options available to you are set out on this webpage and will guide you on how to request or apply for the information.
Informal request - Administrative Access Scheme
To access your personal information and other non-personal you can ask the UniSC team that holds the information, or our RTI-Privacy Team.
This administrative process is of no cost and is designed to be faster than the formal process.
If your request to access information under this scheme is refused you may lodge a formal application.
When personal information may be too large, sensitive or confidential to release under our Administrative Access Scheme a formal application can be made.
How to request:
If you are unable to make the request, another person can apply on your behalf with proof of their authority.
- Submit your request with specific information you are seeking to the relevant UniSC team or our RTI-Privacy Officer by email or post.
- When applying for access to information that is personal: Submit proof of your identity and, where applicable, proof of a person’s authority to act on your behalf.
Formal application
Before making a formal application, please check if the information is available through our other information access options.
You can apply to access information under the RTI Act when the other options aren’t suitable. A formal application can request your personal and other non-personal information. A formal application must be valid, has set timeframes and notices for our response. Some fees and charges can apply:
- A fee does not apply to requests for personal information.
- A fee applies to requests for other non-personal information and cannot be waived.
- Charges can apply to either type of request. This can be waived due to financial hardship.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland has more on:
- proof of identity and authority, and
- how to apply for documents.
When the FOI Act applies, please visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) webpage to learn how to make a freedom of information request.
If you are unable to apply, another person can apply on your behalf with proof of their authority.
- Download and complete the form - Access Application (PDF 303 KB).
- Submit your application to our RTI-Privacy Officer by email or post.
- When applying for access to information that is:
- personal: Submit proof of your identity and, where applicable, proof of a person’s authority to act on your behalf.
- non-personal: Pay the application fee, when provided the link.
- personal and non-personal: Submit proof of your identity and, where applicable, proof of a person’s authority to act on your behalf. Pay the application fee, when provided the link.
If you application is not valid, we will ask you to make it valid before the end of the processing period.
For your application to be valid it must:
- be in writing,
- give enough details about the document/s to enable us to identify them,
- state an address (email or post), to which notices may be sent to you.
And when applying for access to information that is:
- personal: have proof of your identity, and where applicable, proof of the authority of someone acting on your behalf.
- non-personal: have paid the application fee.
- personal and non-personal: have proof of your identity, and where applicable, proof of the authority of someone acting on your behalf, and have paid the application fee.
- Receipt
We will acknowledge that we have your application. We may contact you should additional information be required or to consult you on your application to make it valid, clarify or narrow the scope. - Processing
We will locate and review documents within the processing period. We will issue you a written Charges Estimate Notice (CEN) of the estimated total processing and/or access charges if there are any for your valid application. This is payable upon issuance of the second and final CEN. - Decision
Our decision on your application will be issued in a ‘decision notice’. This will either grant you full, partial or no access to the documents you applied for. Some information may be redacted if it is irrelevant, not within the scope of your application, or it was not able to be released. If we do not give you a decision by the end of the processing period, we are deemed to have refused you access to all the documents applied for and you will be issued with a refund if you paid the application fee. - Access
If you are granted access to the documents and there are charges, you must pay these before you can access the documents. You have 40 business days to access the documents from the business day after the decision or expiry of any document access deferral period. You can request additional time to access the documents. However, after this time a new application will be required. - Review
After we send you a notice, or a decision is overdue, you can ask for a free review of the decision. You can apply for an internal or external review. A full list of reviewable decisions is set out in the RTI and IP Acts.
You must submit your request in writing within 20 business days following the date on your decision notice. This must give an address (email or post) where correspondence can be sent and provide details of the decision for review.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland has more on explaining your review rights.
Internal review
Contact our RTI-Privacy Officer to request a free internal review.
Within 20 business days from the date of your request for an internal review, we will send you a decision notice. This time may be extended if you only provide a postal address, when we consult a concerned third party, or if you request an extension of time.
Should we not give you a decision by the end of the internal review processing period, the initial decision is deemed to be upheld.
You may apply for an external review should you not agree with the internal review decision.
External review
You may apply for an external review if you:
- have received a health care decision;
- you are not satisfied with our decision on a formal application or internal review; or
- are not issued a decision notice within the processing period or extended time for a formal application or internal review.
You can apply online or contact the OIC Queensland to request an external review.
Applications must be processed within the timeframes set out in the RTI Act. This is known as the ‘processing period’. This takes a minimum of 25 business days and starts on the next business day from when a valid application is received.
If your application is not valid, you will be asked to make it valid before the end of the processing period. If you do, the time re-sets and we have 25 business days from that point to process the application.
The processing period may be extended if you only provide a postal address, the application is transferred to another agency, when we issue a Charges Estimate Notice (CEN), consult a concerned third party, and request an extension of time.
We can request an extension of time with you prior to the end of the processing period. This can happen if:
- additional time is required due to the size or complexity of the application,
- there is difficulty in locating or extracting the documents,
- there is a backlog of applications.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland has more on timeframes.
Please visit Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland’s page for the current fees and charges.
Fees and charges may increase 1st July each year in line with the Government’s indexation policy. Applications received before the new fees come into effect on 1st July each year will be charged at the previous rates.
Fees and charges that can apply:
- A fee does not apply to requests for personal information.
- A fee applies to requests for other non-personal information and cannot be waived.
- Charges can apply to either type of request. This can be waived due to financial hardship.
When the FOI Act applies, the charges under the FOI Act apply. Please visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for more on charges.
Disclosure log
Our Disclosure Log lists information we gave applicants access to when they applied for this under the RTI Act. This can be information that is of interest to the wider public.
Visit our
disclosure log webpage to see information available.
Contacts
UniSC RTI-Privacy Team
Applications, complaints, and enquiries relating to the information on this page should be directed to:
Email: rti-privacy@usc.edu.au
Tel. +61 7 5456 3550
Postal address:
RTI-Privacy Officer
ML22 (Insights and Analytics)
University of the Sunshine Coast
PO Box 5280
SUNSHINE COAST MAIL CENTRE QUEENSLAND 4560
AUSTRALIA
Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Queensland
Contact details are available via the regulator's website
hereOffice of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Contact details are available via the regulator's website
here.