Informal request for access to information

Under the law, you have a right to access and apply to amend your personal information and access non-personal information held by government agencies and organisations like us.

If you are seeking information about yourself, you can access this information is by making an informal request (administrative release).

An informal request is an easier way for people to access personal information about themselves.

If an informal request is not suitable or an informal request is unsuccessful, then you can make a formal application.

Exempt information

There are some types of information that we can’t release, including:

  • information that legally cannot be released
  • information relating to one of our investigations or law enforcement activities
  • information subject to legal professional privilege.

How to request access

To informally request access to information, you can:

You must tell us what you’re looking for and why.

All written requests must be signed, and email requests must include a scanned attachment containing your signature.

If you request the information over the phone, we’ll ask you a series of question to verify your identity.

We do not process unreasonable requests, including ones involving very large amounts of information.

Fees and charges

You may have to pay a processing and/or access charge.

We’ll tell you about any charges in advance.

Complaints

If you informally request access to information, you have no ability to seek a review of a decision to deny you access. However, you can make a complaint to our office.

Other ways to access information

There are other ways you can access information held by us:

Before making a formal application, please consider accessing information through our publication scheme, disclosure log or an informal request.

More information

For more information about how to access information held by us (and how we protect your privacy), please contact us .