The Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) and the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) aims to make more information available, provide equal access to information across all sectors of the community and provide appropriate protection for individuals privacy.

The Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) provides people with the right to access documents or information held by the Mornington Shire Council which are not usually publicly available and encourages Council to release documents unless they contain information which is exempt or which is contrary to public interest.

The Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) provides a formal means of requesting access to, and amendment of your personal information. Formal access applications under Right to Information or Information Privacy should only be made as a last resort, where information is not otherwise accessible.

This legislation replaces the former Freedom of Information Act 1992. For further details on the right to information, please go to the Queensland Government Right to Information website.

Information about Council’s services and business operations is provided in many of our corporate documents, which are available through the Publications page of the website. We also make available information already released through RTI in a Disclosure Log. The Disclosure Log can be found in the document portal at the bottom of the page.

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 Act.

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 then 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.

• Application forms can be accessed through the Right to Information and Information Privacy website or downloaded here (insert RTI Form)
• Completed application forms can be submitted:
  • in person to: Council Headquarters, 1 Mission Rd, Gununa
  • posted to: 1 Mission Rd, Gununa QLD 4892
  • by email to: info@mornington.qld.gov.au
• An RTI application fee of $55.75 must be paid at the time of application
• Processing charges are $8.00 per 15 minutes or part of 15 minutes if Council spends more than 5 hours processing the application
• Application, processing and printing fees are set in the Right to Information Regulation 2009 – view the Office of the Information Commissioner website for current fees and information.

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’s Disclosure Log shows information released under the Right to Information Act that is considered of interest to the general public. Certain information (for example personal information, commercial in confidence or information otherwise excluded by law from release), will not be included in the disclosure log.

Where documents have been determined suitable to release, they are provided in Portable Document Format (PDF). To access released documents, which are large electronic files and have been notated as “Available on Request” in the table below, please contact us on 07 4745 7800 or by email info@mornington.qld.gov.au to request copies.

There is no charge for electronically receiving any RTI application that is permitted to be released. There may be a charge if a large volume of printed material is required which will be advised at the time of your request.