Two former university students have taken the federal Information Commissioner to court to find out exactly what went on when a racial discrimination complaint was brought against them.

Calum Thwaites and Jackson Powell were unsuccessfully sued by Queensland University of Technology staffer Cindy Prior for $250,000 under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Three ex-QUT students are taking the Information Commissioner to court. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Ms Prior complained to the Human Rights Commissioner about the pair and a third student, Alex Wood, after they posted comments on social media about the university's Indigenous-only computer lab in 2013.

The students were not told about the complaint against them until 14 months later, just three days before a conciliation conference in court.