Queensland Numbered Acts Queensland Numbered ActsSections 53 and 54--
omit, insert--
'(1) A person who has had access to a document from an agency or Minister (whether or not under this Act) containing information relating to the person's personal affairs is entitled to apply to the agency or Minister for amendment of any part of the information that the person claims is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading.
'(2) A person who--
(a) has had access to a document from an agency or Minister (whether or not under this Act) containing information relating to the personal affairs of a deceased person; and
(b) is either--
(i) a person who qualifies as a deceased person's eligible family member as defined under section 51; or
(ii) a person the agency or Minister considers has an appropriate interest in the amendment of the information relating to the personal affairs of the deceased person;
is entitled to apply to the agency or Minister for amendment of any part of the information that the person claims is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading.
An application under section 53 must--
(a) be in writing; and
(b) state an address to which a notice under section 5748 may be sent to the applicant; and
(c) state the information the applicant claims is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading and the document containing the information; and
(d) state the way in which the applicant claims the information to be inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading and the grounds for the applicant's claim; and
(e) if the applicant claims the information to be inaccurate or misleading--state the amendments the applicant claims are necessary for the information to be accurate or not misleading; and
(f) if the applicant claims the information to be incomplete or out-of-date--state the other information the applicant claims is necessary to complete the information or to bring it up-to-date.
'(1) An agency to which an application under section 5349 has been made (the original agency) may transfer the application to another agency if--
(a) the document to which the application relates is held by the original agency but is more closely related to the functions of the other agency; and
(b) the other agency consents to the transfer.
'(2) If the application is transferred, the original agency must--
(a) give a copy of the document (whether or not in the form of a written document) to the other agency with the application; and
(b) immediately give the applicant written notice of the transfer, stating in the notice the day on which, and the agency to which, the application has been transferred.
'(3) If the application is transferred, the application is taken--
(a) to be an application under section 53 made to the other agency; and
(b) to have been received by the other agency--
(i) on the day on which it is transferred; or
(ii) 14 days after the day on which it was received by the original agency;
whichever is the earlier.
'(4) If the other agency decides to amend the information to which the application relates, then--
(a) the other agency must advise the original agency of the decision and how, under section 55, 50 it proposes to make the amendment; and
(b) the original agency must make the same amendment to the information in the document it holds.
'(5) If an application is made to an agency for amendment of information in more than 1 document, this section applies in relation to each of the documents as if separate applications had been made to the agency for amendment of information in each of the documents.
'(6) In this section--
agency includes a Minister.
'(1) An agency or Minister to whom an application is made under section 53 may refuse to deal with the application or, if the agency or Minister is considering 2 or more applications made by the same person, all the applications, if the agency or Minister considers the work involved in dealing with the application or all the applications, would, if carried out--
(a) substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from their use by the agency in the performance of its functions; or
(b) interfere substantially and unreasonably with the performance by the Minister of the Minister's functions.
'(2) If the agency or Minister decides to refuse to deal with the application or all the applications--
(a) the agency or Minister must give written notice to the applicant of the decision and the reasons for the decision; and
(b) the notice must specify--
(i) the day on which the decision was made; and
(ii) details of any public interest considerations on which the decision was based; and
(iii) the name and designation of the officer who made the decision; and
(c) section 5951 does not apply in relation to the information the subject of the application.
'(1) The agency or Minister may refuse to deal with the application, or all the applications, under section 54B only if--
(a) the agency or Minister has given the applicant a written notice--
(i) stating an intention to refuse to deal with the application or all the applications; and
(ii) advising that, for a consultation period, the applicant may consult with a stated officer of the agency or a stated member of the staff of the Minister with a view to making an application or applications in a form that would remove the ground for refusal; and
(iii) advising that the consultation period ends 21 days after the day the applicant is given the notice; and
(iv) stating the effect of subsections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7); and
(b) the agency or Minister has given the applicant a reasonable opportunity to consult with the officer or member; and
(c) the agency or Minister has, as far as is reasonably practicable, provided the applicant with any information that would help the making of an application or applications in a form that would remove the ground for refusal.
'(2) During consultation, the applicant and officer or member may agree on a different period to the period mentioned in section 5752 for notification of the decision in relation to the application or any of the applications.
'(3) Following consultation, the applicant may give the officer or member written notice either confirming or altering the application or any of the applications.
Examples of alterations--
an alteration of the documents to which the application relates
an alteration of the application to state that the period for notification of the decision in relation to the application is to be the period agreed with the officer or member rather than the period mentioned in section 57
'(4) If the application is altered, section 54B applies in relation to the altered application but the other provisions of this section do not apply to it.
'(5) If the applicant fails to consult after being given notice under subsection (1)(a), the applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application or all of the applications.
'(6) Without limiting subsection (5), the applicant is taken to have failed to consult if, by the end of the consultation period, the applicant has not given the officer or member written notice under subsection (3).
'(7) If the applicant gives the officer or member written notice altering the application to state that the period for notification of the decision in relation to the application is to be the different period agreed under subsection (2), the agreed period is taken to be the period mentioned in section 57.
'(8) Also, the period commencing on the day an applicant is given notice under subsection (1)(a) and ending on the day the applicant gives the agency or Minister written notice confirming or altering the application following consultation does not count as part of the period mentioned in section 57.
'(1) This section applies if an applicant applies to an agency or Minister for amendment under section 53 of information in 1 or more documents (the later application) and has made an earlier application to the same agency or Minister for the same or a similar amendment under section 53 of information in 1 or more of the same documents (the earlier application).
'(2) However, this section does not apply if the applicant withdrew the earlier application or the application was taken to be withdrawn under section 54C.53
'(3) The agency or Minister may, to the extent the later application relates to the amendment of a document or documents sought under the earlier application, refuse to deal with the later application on a ground mentioned in subsection (4) if--
(a) the agency or Minister is satisfied the amendment sought under the later application was the same or similar amendment sought under the earlier application; and
(b) the later application has not disclosed any reasonable basis for again seeking amendment of information in the document or documents.
'(4) The grounds are as follows--
(a) the agency's or Minister's decision on the earlier application was to refuse to amend on a ground mentioned in section 54E(2);
(b) when the later application was made, the agency or Minister had not decided whether to amend the information to which the earlier application relates;
(c) the agency's or Minister's decision on the earlier application--
(i) is the subject of a review under division 254 and the review is not complete; or
(ii) has been the subject of a completed review under division 2.
'(1) An agency or Minister to whom an application is made under section 53 may decide to amend the information to which the application relates.
'(2) Without limiting the grounds on which the agency or Minister may refuse to amend the information, the agency or Minister may refuse to amend the information because--
(a) the agency or Minister is not satisfied--
(i) the information is inaccurate, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading; or
(ii) the information sought to be amended is information relating to the personal affairs of the applicant or relating to the personal affairs of a deceased person; or
(iii) if the information sought to be amended is information relating to the personal affairs of a deceased person, that the applicant is a person entitled to apply for amendment under section 53(2)(b); or
(b) the information is not recorded in a functional record.
'(3) In this section--
functional record, of an agency or Minister, means a record available for use in the day to day or ordinary performance of the agency's or Minister's functions.'.