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Right to Information

Overview

Overview

The Right to Information Act 2009 (the Act) provides greater access to information held by government bodies and public authorities. The Department of Justice is a public authority.

The Department of Justice is required by the Act to make information available to the public through proactive disclosure. We will routinely make information available which will assist the public, in understanding what the Department does and how we do it.

Please view the Department of Justice's Right to Information Policies and Procedures (PDF, 449.9 KB) to learn to more about the right to information process.

How to apply or access information

How to apply or access information

Applications for assessed disclosure of information held by the Department of Justice should be addressed to:

Right to Information Officer
Department of Justice
GPO Box 825
Hobart    TAS   7001

If you are seeking information held by other Departments, please refer to the RTI section on their websites. The Department of Justice form cannot be used to obtain information held by other Departments.

Fees

Applications are to be accompanied by the application fee. This fee is 25 fee units, which is $38.75 as at 1 July 2017 and is indexed annually.

Please do not submit payment to the Department of Justice if the information you seek is held by another Department.

If the information is already publicly available, your application may be refused with the loss of the application fee.

Waiving fees

You can apply to have the fee waived under the following circumstances.

  • proven financial hardship
  • Members of Parliament in connection with their official duty
  • if you can provide proof that the information sought is to be used for the benefit of the general public

Application form

Application for Assessed Disclosure of Information (docx, 166.0 KB)

Application for Assessed Disclosure of Information  (pdf, 93.7 KB)

Once we've received your application

  • we may need to contact you to confirm details before proceeding
  • your application will be assessed by an officer
  • you will be advised of outcome no later than 20 working days
  • if the request is large or complex we may ask for additional time
  • we may forward it to another public authority
  • if consultation needs to take place with 3rd parties you will be advised no later than 40 working days

Refused application

If the application or part of the application is refused, then the reasons for the refusal to provide the information must be provided as part of the decision together with details on the right to seek a review of the decision.   This is done by writing to:

Principal Officer
Right to Information
Department of Justice
GPO Box 825
Hobart    TAS   7001

If your request is not processed in the timeframe, you are able to seek a review by the Ombudsman.

Disclosure register

Disclosure register

Interim procedures for disclosing information released in response to Right to Information Act 2009 requests in Tasmania were announced on Tuesday 9 June 2015.

Certain information released in response to Right to Information requests will be published online within 48 hours of being released to the applicant. This only applies to applications received after 9 June 2015. Detailed policies reflecting this change will soon be available.

The new approach makes information released to an applicant available to a wider audience and increases Government transparency and accountability.

Applicants should note that:

  • if they seek and are granted a waiver of the application fee on the basis of general public interest, and it is determined that the information is in the broader public interest, publication of the released information is likely.
  • their identity will not be published. The category of applicant will be published, i.e. Member of Parliament, media representative, private individual.
  • a summary of the application will be published. This gives context to the nature of the released information.
  • only information that is considered to be in the broader public interest will be published. No personal information will be published.
  • information of a commercial or confidential nature will not be published.
Category of ApplicantSummary of RequestInformation Released
MediaInformation regarding site options for proposed Northern PrisonSite Suitability Requirements - Northern Prison
(pdf, 30.8 KB)
Media2015 and 2016 People Matter Survey resultsPeople Matter Survey results 2015 (pdf, 587.6 KB)
People Matter Survey results 2016 (pdf, 1.3 MB)
Member of ParliamentA copy of information regarding asbestos management at the Royal Hobart Hospital.Right to Information - asbestos management at the Royal Hobart Hospital (pdf, 26.8 MB)
MediaDetails about incorrectly released prisoners over the last two years.Details about incorrectly released prisoners (pdf, 73.3 KB)
Member of ParliamentA copy of information regarding mould issues at the Royal Hobart Hospital.Right to Information - mould issues at the Royal Hobart Hospital
(pdf, 77.0 MB)
Media

A copy of the Department’s gifts and benefits register for financial year 2014-15.

Department of Justice Gifts & Benefits Register 2014-15 (pdf, 104.3 KB)
MediaInformation about drug use at Risdon Prison.Statistical information about the number of seizures and types of drugs seized over a period of years. (pdf, 78.3 KB)
Member of ParliamentInformation for each successful bidder and any other bidders that were awarded contracts that were deemed exempt from the Treasurer’s Instructions, including the name of the successful bidder, the product or service provided, and the cost of the contract since 1 January 2015.Exemption requests approved and contracts executed from 1 January 2015 (doc, 31.5 KB)
Member of Parliament

A copy of all information relating to external consultants engaged by the department from 1 August 2014 to current. A copy of all information relating to the name of the consultant or firm, the dates of the engagement period, the reason for their engagement, and the total cost of each consultant, including any travel and accommodation paid.

External consultants engaged by the Department from 1 August 2014 to 18 November 2015. (doc, 67.0 KB)
Member of ParliamentA list of all organisations incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1964 as of 10 February 2016List of incorporated associations (XLS, 1.5 MB)
Member of ParliamentInformation related to:
1. Overtime
2. Staff leave
3. Workers compensation
at the Tasmania Prison Service		Tasmania Prison Service information (doc, 614.0 KB)

Right to Information - Whole of Government

Right to Information - Whole of Government

The information provided in this section is designed to help Public Authorities in the Administration of RTI.

Delegations

Principal officers of public authorities of Ministers may delegate some or all of their functions powers under section 24 of the Act to another person, where the principal officer or Minister is satisfied that the person has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform those functions or exercise those powers. Sample delegations are included below:

Right to Information Annual Report

Section 53 of the Act requires that the Department of Justice must prepare a report for each financial year on the administration of the Right to Information Act 2009.

Annual reports are available from the links below:

Current Right to Information Annual Report

Previous Right to Information Annual Reports

Routine release of information

Routine release of information

The Department of Justice, along with other government agencies, is committed to increasing the amount of comparable information routinely disclosed to the public.

On this page you will find regular updates on a range of topics which may be of interest to you.

Organisational Structure

Departmental Governance policies

Major Policy and Program initiatives

Employment and workforce statistics

Please refer to the State Service Management Office.

Other Department of Justice workforce statistics as of 30 June 2015 can be found in Staffing Information (doc, 103.5 KB).

The General Government Sector Employment Status Update (30 June 2015) can be found in General Government Sector Employment Status Update (pdf 332KB).

*These figures are updated on or around the end of April and October respectively.

Gifts and benefits register

2017-18 Gifts and benefits register

Date of Receipt of Offer Description of gift, benefit and/or hospitality offered Reason for acceptance Person/Organisation offering gift, benefit and/or hospitality Value of gift, benefit and/or hospitality ($)
20/11/2017 Attended a lunch at a local restaurant with representatives from Department of State Growth and University of Tasmania Celebrating completion of important project stage University of Tasmania $100
19/3/2018 Carol Schwartz spoke at a Property Council of Australia event on 27 March 2018. As speaker, Carol was given an additional ticket to the event  which was gifted to a Department of Justice staff member. Builds goodwill, maintains stakeholder relationships and encourages and enhances professional networks Carol Schwartz, Trawalla $125

2016-17 Gifts and benefits register

  • 1 October to 31 December 2016 – No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting
  • 1 January to 31 March 2017 - No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting
  • 1 April to 30 June 2017 - No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting

Senior Executive Service information

Please refer to the State Service Management Office.

More detailed figures can be found in the Head of State Service Annual Report: Appendix C - Workforce Profile

*These figures are updated on or around the end of April and October respectively.

Telecommunications expenditure

Please refer to information on telecommunications and mobile devices expenditure (xlsx, 11.1 KB).

*These figures are updated on or around the end of March and September respectively.

Contracts and Consultancies

Please refer to the Tasmanian Government Tenders website.