Start date confirmed for Queensland’s IPOLA reforms

The Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland (OIC) has welcomed news from the Queensland Attorney-General that the IPOLA Act amendments will start from 1 July 2025, as anticipated.

The Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (IPOLA Act) was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 29 November 2023. The IPOLA Act amends the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act), Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) and related provisions in other legislation.

The agency says the IPOLA reforms will improve transparency and accountability of Queensland public sector agencies and strengthen privacy protections for the community.

Changes include introducing a mandatory notification data breach (MNDB) scheme in Queensland, which will start on 1 July 2025 for most agencies (although local government will follow one year later).

Information Commissioner Joanne Kummrow welcomed the recent news, saying the IPOLA reforms were an important step forward for Queensland and would bring greater consistency with the Commonwealth Privacy Act.

“Confirmation of the IPOLA start date is positive news for the community and realises some of the recommendations from Professor Peter Coaldrake’s review and other integrity reviews,” she said. “It provides tremendous endorsement for the work undertaken by OIC to date and ongoing, to ensure agency awareness and knowledge of the reforms to our legislation.

“It also highlights the importance of transparency and integrity in the public sector by strengthening provisions to support members of the public in accessing government-held information, and a commitment to protecting citizens’ personal information.”

Ms Kummrow said the year following commencement of the IPOLA Act would be a period of transition.

“Every agency’s implementation journey will be different, however OIC will continue to provide advice and assistance while working alongside agencies to support this stage,” she said.

Information, guidelines and resources can be found on our dedicated IPOLA webpage.

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