Introduction
The Department of Education (the department) values the principles and practices of openness and accountability to its clients, staff and members of the public about departmental operations and record-keeping.
If you wish to access information held by the department, we recommend you look at our publication scheme, disclosure log and
Open Data Portal in the first instance.
If you are unable to find the information you are seeking on our publication scheme, disclosure log or Open Data Portal, then you may request access to the information under our administrative access scheme.
Information held by the department is released administratively as a matter of course, unless there is a good reason not to. You should request access to department information under our administrative access scheme first before lodging a formal application under the
Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act). Read more about the department's
administrative access scheme.
Formal applications for personal and non-personal documents are made under the RTI Act. Applications made under the RTI Act are last resort only where access to the documents is not appropriate under our administrative access scheme. Read more about
making an access application for non-personal and personal documents under the RTI Act.
An application under the RTI Act is not the recommended process to obtain department documents where you have current court proceedings.
If you are seeking access to department documents for a current court proceeding and the department (State of Queensland) is not a party to the proceedings, then we recommend you serve a court ordered request such as a subpoena or summons. If the proceeding is not yet set down for trial, then you may consider serving a notice of non-party disclosure or lodge a request under section 134A of the
Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) if the proceeding relates to a civil matter. Read more about
court ordered requests and other types of legislative requests for documents.
What information you can access
Due to the size and complexity of the department, a large number of documents are held at various locations.
There may be difficulty with obtaining school student records during the school holiday period and further time may be required to process your request for documents. For further information about the school holiday period, please refer to the
Queensland state school calendar.
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School records contain administrative and educational information relating to the school and students. Parents have access rights to records about their children. These rights are explained in the
administrative access to information procedure located in the department's Policy and Procedures Register (PPR), which is available at all regional offices and schools or online.
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Early Childhood Education and Care records relate to the regulation of early childhood education and care services in Queensland. Approved early childhood education and care services are regulated under the
Education and Care Services National Law (Qld) Act 2011—and Education and Care Services National Law (Qld)—and the
Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld). The service type determines the legislation that applies and under which legislation to apply for records.
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Central office and regional offices records are stored in paper-based or electronic files created for specific subjects based on functions, located at various locations depending on the nature of the file and its access requirements. These include corporate files, personnel records and accounts records.
Reporting of Right to Information and Information Privacy applications
The department promotes a culture of openness and respect for the independence of Right to Information decision-makers and follows a 2-stage process for reporting Right to Information applications and/or decisions to the Minister and Senior Executive (including the Director-General).
Procedures and policies relating to information and data
Contact information