Right to Information
You have the right to request access to government information held by the Department of Justice. This is subject to some exceptions and exemptions.
Information about Justice
The Department of Justice, along with other government agencies, is committed to increasing the amount of information routinely disclosed to the public.
Regular updates are released on a range of topics outlined below.
If you are thinking about making a right to information request, check the resources below first to see if we (or another government department) have already published the information.
Annual reports and other publications
These include reports from tribunals, commissions and boards supported by the Justice.
Contracts and consultancies
Tasmanian Government Tenders website
Community consultation
Have your say on government projects, services, and changes to the laws.
Departmental policies
These are some of the policies that direct our work and our employees.
Employment and workforce statistics
Information about the Tasmanian State Service workforce, including senior executive service positions, is published twice a year by the State Service Management Office.
Department of Justice workforce statistics (as of 30 June each year) can be found in our Annual report.
Gifts and benefits register
News and events
Organisational structure
Justice organisational structure chart
Policy and program initiatives
Find information about our current projects, and other relevant government information.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Breaking the Cycle Strategic Plan
Report on Government Services (Australian Government)
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
Short Stay Accommodation Act data collection
Work health and safety industry snapshots
Sentencing statistics
Sentencing Advisory Council website
Telecommunications expenditure
Telecommunications expenditure
Other data
- Births, Deaths and Marriage registrations
- Consumer enquiries and complaints to Consumer, Building and Occupational Services
- Court lodgements
- Fines collection rate
- National Redress Scheme applications and compensation
- Occupational licence holders
- Prisoners and detainees
- Rental bonds
- Risk Based Licensing
- Working with vulnerable people registrations
- WorkSafe Tasmania data
How we disclose information
Under the Right to Information Act 2009, we provide information to the public through these methods:
Required disclosure
Required disclosure is when Justice is required by law to publish certain information (including under an enforceable agreement). An example is our annual report.
If you are thinking about making a right to information request, check our Annual reports first to see if they contain the information you are after.
Routine disclosure
Routine disclosure is when Justice publishes information that may be of public interest. Examples are discussion papers for proposals for law reform, statistical information, information about the programs and services we deliver, or our gifts and benefits register.
If you are thinking about making a right to information request, check our Information about Justice first to see if we have already published the information you are after.
Active disclosure
Active disclosure is when Justice provides information in response to a request made outside the right to information process. An example is providing information to someone who has written a letter to us.
Assessed disclosure
Assessed disclosure is information provided when someone submits a right to information request.
It is the last resort, if the information is not found through required, routine or active disclosures.
The laws for right to information
Under the Right to Information Act 2009, you have the right to request access to government information held by the Department of Justice.
All information must be disclosed, unless it is defined under the Act as ‘exempt information’. You can find out more about exempt information from the Ombudsman’s Manual (available on the Ombudsman Tasmania website).
This Act aims to improve democratic government by:
- increasing the accountability of government
- increasing the ability of the public to participate in government decision-making processes
- acknowledging that public authorities collect information for and on behalf of the public.
This Act:
- authorises and encourages routine disclosure of information held by public authorities without the need for requests or applications
- authorises and encourages active disclosure of information held by public authorities in response to informal requests without the need for applications
- gives members of the public an enforceable right to information held by public authorities
- provides that access to information held by government bodies is restricted in only limited circumstances which are defined in the Act.
In certain circumstances, you may be able to access personal information that Justice holds about you through the Personal Information Protection Act 2004.
What happens after you make a request
Receiving your application
When we receive your application, we:
- may contact you to confirm the exact nature of the information you want
- will identify what information Justice has that relates to your request
- will assess if the information can be disclosed, or if it is exempt information under the Right to Information Act 2009.
- will advise you of the outcome in writing. This is normally within 20 days, but may be longer if we need to consult with other departments, organisations or people.
If we do not provide some or all of the information you have asked for, we will provide reasons for this.
Disagree with the outcome
If you disagree with the outcome, you can ask Justice to conduct an internal review of the decision. You must do this within 20 working days of receiving our advice.
If you are not happy with the internal review, you can ask the Ombudsman to conduct an external review of the decision. Again, you must do this within 20 working days of receiving the decision of our internal review. Details of how to request these reviews will be provided to you with the written decisions.
Disclosure register
We publish certain information on our website once it is released for right to information requests.
- We publish it here within 48 hours of it being released.
- We publish it if we think it is in the public interest.
- We do not publish personal information, or information of a commercial or confidential nature.
If you are seeking information which was published on the Right to Information Disclosure Log prior to the 2024/25 reporting period, please email rti@justice.tas.gov.au
Public Authority or Minister Applied To | Date Released to Applicant | Category of Applicant | Summary of Request | Information Released |
---|---|---|---|---|
Department of Justice | 27 August 2025 | Non-Government Organisation | Details of orders and enforcement action taken under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 for 2024-25. | Orders and enforcement action made under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 (PDF, 664.3 KB) |
Magistrates Court | 1 August 2025 | Member of Parliament | Information on persons who received a Youth Justice Detention Order | Youth Justice Detention Order statistical information from 2014 to 2025 (PDF, 643.0 KB) |
Magistrates and Supreme Courts | 25 July 2025 | Non-Government Organisation | Information in relation to the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 and Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 from 2019 to 2024. | Information to relation to the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (PDF, 128.0 KB) |
Department of Justice | 11 June 2025 | Journalist | Complaints, concerns or similar in relation to children and young people being held at Hobart or Launceston reception prisons. | Issues Register - Young People in Reception Prisons. (PDF, 1.2 MB) |
Department of Justice | 3 June 2025 | Journalist | Information, including correspondence and complaints, in relation to the Tasmanian National Preventative Mechanism. | Information in relation to the Tasmanian National Preventive Mechanism. (PDF, 8.2 MB) |
Department of Justice | 28 May 2025 | Member of Parliament | Magistrates Court and lodgements in the Magistrates Court under s 41 and s 45 of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 for 2024. | Residential Tenancy Act 1997 lodgements in the Magistrates Court for 2024. (PDF, 77.1 KB) |
Department of Justice | 21 May 2025 | Member of Parliament | Information in relation to management and care of pregnant individuals by the Tasmania Prison Service. | DSO - 3.09 Mother and Child Program (PDF, 2.3 MB) |
Department of Justice | 9 May 2025 | Journalist | Information in relation to the settlement of claims made against the State of Tasmania for child sexual abuse in State care. | Settlement claims made against the State for child sexual abuse in State care matter (PDF, 679.7 KB) |
Department of Justice | 4 March 2025 | Non-Government Organisation | Information in relation to the proposed amendments of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania. | Documentation held by the Department of Justice from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania in relation to the proposed legislative amendments (PDF, 4.4 MB) |
Department of Justice | 20 February 2025 | Member of Parliament | Policies, criteria and statistics relating to placement in the Tamar Unit of Risdon Prison Complex between 1 August 2024 and 1 February 2025. | DSO - 1.24 Separate Confinement and Operating Manual Tamara and Franklin Units (PDF, 1.1 MB) Tamar Unit length of days held between 1 August 2024 to 1 February 2025 (PDF, 636.4 KB) |
Department of Justice | 23 January 2025 | Journalist | Selection report and information to the Attorney-General relating to the appointment of a new Chief Justice | Selection report and information to the Attorney-General relating to appointment of Chief Justice (PDF, 2.4 MB) |
Department of Justice | 23 January 2025 | Journalist | Information relating to selection process for Chief Justice | Information held in relation to selection process for Chief Justice (PDF, 18.8 MB) |
Department of Justice | 9 January 2025 | Member of Parliament | Information from the past 12 months on raising the age of criminal responsibility | Information held in relation to raising the age of criminal responsibility (PDF, 7.6 MB) |
Department of Justice | 17 December 2024 | Journalist | Information and communications regarding Justice Gregory Geason’s employee entitlements and resignation | Information held in relation to Justice Geason resignation and entitlements (PDF, 5.5 MB) |
Department of Justice | 6 November 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | Information held by the Department of Justice on assistance animals | Information held in relation to assistance animals (PDF, 6.9 MB) |
Attorney-General | 1 November 2024 | Member of Parliament | Correspondence between the Attorney-General and the Public Trustee since 1 July 2021 and correspondence between the Treasurer and Attorney-General regarding the Public Trustee since 1 July 2021. | Documentation between the Attorney-General and The Public Trustee and the Treasurer (PDF, 17.0 MB) |
Department of Justice | 3 October 2024 | Member of Parliament | Information between the Department of Justice and the Attorney-General and Sustainable Timber Tasmania in relation to the Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection Bill) 2022, Workplaces (Protections from Protestors) Amendment Bill 2014, and Workplaces (Protections from Protestors) Amendment Bill 2021. | Documentation between the Department of Justice and Sustainable Timber Tasmania in relation to legislative amendments. (PDF, 2.6 MB) |
Department of Justice | 25 September 2024 | Member of Parliament | Information relating to the Residential Building (Miscellaneous Consumer Protection Amendments) Act 2023 and Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Act 2023 and information about claims made under the Home Warranty Insurance Scheme. | Residential Building (Miscellaneous Consumer Protection Amendments) Act 2023 (PDF, 30.3 MB) Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Act 2023 (PDF, 12.8 MB) Home Warranty Insurance Scheme information (PDF, 119.2 KB) |
Department of Justice | 19 September 2024 | Journalist | Departmental correspondence in relation to meeting the efficiency dividend from 1 November 2023 to 24 July 2024. | Efficiency dividend correspondence and documents from1 November 2023 to 24 July 2024. (PDF, 11.7 MB) |
Department of Justice | 18 September 2024 | Journalist | Departmental correspondence in relation to meeting the efficiency dividend from May 2023 to May 2024. | Efficiency dividend correspondence and documents from May 2023 to May 2024. (PDF, 7.9 MB) |
Department of Justice | 17 September 2024 | Member of Parliament | Departmental correspondence in relation to meeting the efficiency dividend from 1 January 2024 to 31 July 2024. | Efficiency dividend correspondence and documents from 1 January 2024 to 31 July 2024. (PDF, 6.6 MB) |
Department of Justice | 16 September 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | Magistrates Court and s41 and s45 of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 statistics for the financial year 2023-24. | Residential Tenancy Act 1997 lodgments in the Magistrates Court. (XLSX, 32.8 KB) |
Department of Justice | 9 September 2024 | Member of Parliament | The number of workers compensation claims made, disputed, the outcome, the number of open claims, and the type of claim for the financial years 2020-21 to 2023-24. | Workers compensation claims statistical information. (PDF, 86.8 KB) |
Department of Justice | 30 August 2024 | Member of Parliament | The salary of Justice Gregory Geason and information of the appointments of Acting Judges. The number of Supreme Court's current pending cases, the average length of time which criminal matters take to commence trial, and the longest wait time for each. | Supreme Court Justice and Acting Justices information the Supreme Court current cases information. (PDF, 115.9 KB) |
Department of Justice | 20 August 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | The number of civil lodgements made in the Magistrates Court for the financial years 2020-21 to 2023-24. | Summary of all civil lodgments made in the Magistrates Court. (XLSX, 325.7 KB) |
Department of Justice | 9 August 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | The number of charges and convictions made in accordance with the Family Violence Act 2004 from 2008 to 2024. | Family Violence Act 2004 and s8 and s9 statistical information. (PDF, 323.3 KB) |
Department of Justice | 9 August 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | Information about the New Directions program available at the Tasmania Prison Service in the last five years. | Tasmania Prison Service and New Directions program (PDF, 271.9 KB) |
Minister for Small Business and Consumer Affairs | 8 August 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | Information held by Minster for Small Business and Consumer Affairs. in relation to the National Cabinet's 'A Better Deal for Renters' from 16 August 2024 to 10 April 2024. | National Cabinet's 'A Better Deal for Renters' information and correspondence held by the Minster for Small Business and Consumer Affairs. (PDF, 1.7 MB) |
Department of Justice | 8 August 2024 | Non-Government Organisation | Information held by Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) in relation to the National Cabinet's 'A Better Deal for Renters' from 16 August 2024 to 10 April 2024. | National Cabinet's 'A Better Deal for Renters' information and correspondence held by CBOS (PDF, 5.1 MB). |
Department of Justice | 31 July 2024 | Journalist | Complaints and enquiries received by Consumer, Building and Occupational Service (CBOS) in relation to GJ Gardner Homes, LV Built Pty Ltd, and Ludek Valta. | Part one - Complaints and enquiries in relation to GJ Gardner Homes and LV Built Pty Ltd and Ludek Valta (PDF, 85.0 MB) Part two - Complaints and enquiries in relation to GJ Gardner Homes and LV Built Pty Ltd and Ludek Valta (PDF, 72.6 MB) |
Department of Justice | 26 July 2024 | Member of Parliament | Departmental correspondence in relation to meeting the efficiency dividend from 26 May 2023 to 31 December 2023. | Efficiency dividend correspondence from 26 May 2023 to 31 December 2023 (PDF, 3.4 MB) |
Department of Justice | 19 July 2024 | Member of Parliament | Correspondence between the Department of Justice and the Meander Valley Council in relation to the proposed northern prison site from January 2015 to December 2018. Residential suburb breakdown of persons incarcerated in the Tasmania Prison Service from January 2023 to June 2024. | Correspondence between the Department of Justice and the Meander Valley Council in relation to the northern prison (PDF, 4.3 MB) Residential suburb breakdown of persons incarcerated (PDF, 747.0 KB) |
Laws, reports and resources
Right to Information Annual Report
These reports contain statistical information on right to information requests for all public authorities.
- Right to Information Annual Report 2023-24
- Right to Information Annual Report 2022-23
- Right to Information Annual Report 2021-22
Legislation
Right to Information Regulations 2021
Policy
Office of the Ombudsman
Right to Information Guidelines
Right to Information Decisions
Delegations
This information will help public authorities manage their right to information obligations.
Principal Officers of public authorities or Ministers may delegate some or all of their right to information functions/powers to another person, if they are satisfied that this person has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform those functions/exercise those powers.
Sample delegations are:
Delegation of power to conduct internal review under section 43
Delegation of powers to both make decisions and conduct internal reviews
Submit a right to information request
Step 1: Is the information already available
The information you want may already be publicly available. Check our:
If you request information that is already published, your application may be refused without returning your fee.
If you are seeking information in relation to the status of a workplace incident investigation, you may seek this information directly from WorkSafe Tasmania by emailing WSTDisclosures@justice.tas.gov.au.
If you are seeking access to information relating to a workplace incident and there is ongoing regulatory action, the information may not be able to be released until this is finalised.
Step 2: Is Justice the department you need
You should be sure that the information you want is available from Justice, and not another government department. For example:
- criminal or traffic matters should be sought from the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management
- youth justice records should be sought from the Department for Education, Children and Young People.
If you are unsure, contact us.
Step 3: Submit an application
If you still haven’t found the information you want, submit a right to information request using this form:
RTI Application for Assessed Disclosure Form
RTI Application for Assessed Disclosure Form
You can submit it by:
- printing the form and posting it to:
Right to Information Officer
Department of Justice
GPO Box 825
Hobart TAS 7001
- saving the form to your devices and emailing it to rti@justice.tas.gov.au
Step 4: Pay the fee
You must also pay a fee when you apply. The cost and payment methods are on the form.
Fees are set in accordance with the Fees Units Act 1997 as follows -
Fee applied from 1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025 | Fee to apply from 1 July 2025 (exclusive of GST) | GST Applicable | GST Amount | Fee to apply from 1 July 2025 (inclusive of GST) |
---|---|---|---|---|
$46.75 | $47.75 | No. | $0.00 | $47.75 |
Having the fee waived
On the application form, you can ask to have the fee waived if you are:
- a Member of Parliament acting in connection with your official duty
- in financial hardship; for example, unemployed or in prison. We will need evidence, such as a Centrelink Health Care Card
- able to show that you intend to use the information for a purpose that is of general public interest/benefit
- a journalist acting in connection with your professional duties
If you wish to have the fee waived on the basis of general public interest, and we support this, then we will publish the information on our Disclosure register. We will not publish your name, but will note broadly who you are (for example, journalist, Member of Parliament, member of public or non-government organisation).
Personal Information Protection
The Personal Information Protection Act 2004 governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The Department of Justice is the custodian of personal information it collects.
Visit the Personal Information Protection webpage for the policy on how the Department is managing personal information, and how to access your information.