Processing of personal access requests
Members of the public have a right to request access their own personal information under the
Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act) or the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) that the department and other Commonwealth agencies hold.
If your request can be more efficiently processed under the Privacy Act, we will give you more information about this.
At any time, you can ask for your request to be treated as a request under the FOI Act, if you prefer.
Submit a personal access request
When you request personal information, you must include photo identification with your request to help us protect your privacy. Examples of photo identification include:
- Australian or international passport
- Australian driver’s licence
- Australian State or Territory issued photo identity cards (Proof of Age card)
If you are requesting personal documents of another person, upload identification documents and evidence you have their consent to obtain their personal documents and information.
Accepted formats include PDF, JPEG and PNG.
To make a request to access personal documents, complete the below online form.
WARNING
You must only use this form to make a new request.
Do not use this form to:
- ask for a progress update about a visa, citizenship or an access request you have already lodged
- provide more information about an access request already submitted.
If you incorrectly use the access request webform, it may result in duplicate registration requests and a slower service for everyone.
When asking for personal information or documents:
- The form will prompt you to provide evidence of your identity and/or evidence of consent of other people you may be requesting personal information about.
- Be clear about what you are requesting. Include information that is brief and easy to understand. If we need to clarify what you are seeking, this will delay your request.
- Be as specific as possible so we can ensure to get you the fastest response.
- We may refuse a request if responding to it would unreasonably divert our resources.
Access request form
Alternative ways to make your personal access request
You can also make your request by:
