Amendment and correction of personal records

Under the FOI Act, you can also apply to the Tribunal for an amendment or annotation of your personal information that is contained in a document of the Tribunal, in the following circumstances:

  • access to the document must have been provided to you lawfully (e.g. pursuant to the access provisions of the FOI Act)
  • the information in question must be incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading
  • the information must have been used, or be in use, or be available for use, by the Tribunal for administrative purposes

What kinds of personal records does the Tribunal hold?

Some of the types of records that the Tribunal holds which may contain personal information include:
  • the various registers which the Tribunal keeps under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth)
  • personnel records
  • recruitment and position files
  • performance appraisal assessments and ratings
  • administrative files
  • litigation files
  • accident, rehabilitation, compensation and medical records
  • application and objection files

How can you have your personal records corrected?

If you want to correct your personal information, you must apply in writing to the Tribunal, explaining why the information held by the Tribunal is inaccurate, and state the amendment sought. The amendment may consist of a correction of documents, or an annotation to documents. There is no fee for the amendment of your personal records.

What happens after you make a request in writing to have your records corrected?

The Tribunal must tell you what it has decided in relation to your request within 30 days. The Tribunal may correct your personal information, but is not bound to use the particular correction you provide.

What if the Tribunal does not fully comply with the request for amendment of your personal records?

If the Tribunal has decided not to make the changes you have requested, it must tell you why, and inform you of your rights of review. You may ask another person in the Tribunal to review your application for amendment or annotation of your personal records (internal review) within 30 days of being notified of the Tribunal's decision. If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, you may apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of that decision within 60 days of the date of the Tribunal's original decision.

If the Tribunal does not fully comply with your request for amendment, you may provide a statement recording your version of the facts and your opinion of the inaccuracy of the document in its unaltered state. This annotation must to be placed on your file, so long as it is not considered to be irrelevant, defamatory or too long.

For definitions of specific native title words and terms see the Glossary.