The Right to Information Act 2009 commenced on 1 July 2010 and gives members of the public the right to obtain information contained in the records of the Government and public authorities, such as the City of Launceston.
The object of the Right to Information Act 2009 is to improve democratic government, increase executive accountability and increase the ability of the people of Tasmania to participate in their governance.
This is done by:
- acknowledging that information collected by public authorities is collected for and on behalf of the people of Tasmania and is the property of the State; and
- giving members of the public the right to obtain information held by public authorities and Ministers, and the right to information about the operations of Government.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
The City of Launceston is required by the Right to Information Act 2009 to make information available to the public through proactive disclosure.
This means we are to routinely make information available that will assist the public in understanding what we do and how we do it.
This may be done via our website, through publications (e.g. fact sheets, or discussion papers), or via reports (e.g. our Annual Report) and by talking to us.
Some information is not released in this way, either because it is not of general public interest or because it is information the Council would need to assess against the exemptions in the Right to Information Act 2009 prior to disclosure.
If you can't find the information you're seeking on the Council's website or in any of our publications, please contact us.
The City of Launceston is committed to protecting the private information of its residents, employees, contractors and elected members. Read our policy about personal information protection(PDF, 185KB).
If the information you're after is not freely available, we will assist you to make an application for an assessed disclosure.
Please complete and return the following form: Right to information Application for Assessed Disclosure(PDF, 458KB) Form.
If you are not using the above form, please note your application must be made in writing and include the information requested in the form - this is a requirement of Regulation 5 of the Right to Information Regulations 2021.
The application will also need to be accompanied by the application fee. Please refer to the form for the current rate (the fee is indexed annually).
The fee may be waived if:
- You are in financial hardship (we take that to mean you are on income support payments - we would usually ask to see evidence that you are in receipt of a Centrelink or Veterans Affairs payment)
- You are a member of parliament and the application is in connection with your official duty; or
- You are able to verify that the information sought is intended to be used for a purpose that is of general public interest or benefit.
Please ensure you have looked for the information before you make a formal application, because if the information is otherwise available your application may be refused without the return of your application fee.
- We will check your application to make sure we have the information we need and that you have paid the application fee (or you have made an application for waiver of the fee).
- We may transfer your application to another public authority if we do not believe we are best placed to provide you with the information.
- Before your application is accepted, we may need to contact you to ask you about your application, this will help us to understand your request.
- Once we have done these steps, your application will be assessed against the Right to Information Act 2009 and you will be informed of the outcome of that process in writing.
- You will be notified of the outcome of your request as soon as practicable, but in no more than 20 working days of the application being accepted.
- If your request is complex or you are seeking a large amount of information, we may ask you to give us more time.
- If there is a need to consult with a third party about their business affairs or about their personal information, an extension of 20 working days is automatically given. We will let you know if this happens.
- If the application or part of the application is refused, the reasons for the refusal to provide the information will be provided to you as part of the decision, together with details on your right to seek a review of the decision. If you decide to request a review, this is done by writing to:
Office of the Ombudsman
GPO Box 690
HOBART TAS 7001
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.tas.gov.au
Phone: 1800 001 170
If the officer assessing your request does not get back to you in the timeframe allowed, then it is deemed that we have refused your application. If you choose, you can then make an application for review to the Ombudsman.
See the Office of the Ombudsman's website for more information.
Some of the information you seek may be managed by other organisations including:
Tasmanian Archives
Service Tasmania network
Tasmania Online