Department of Human Services Privacy Policy
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Date released: 1 July 2015 Version: 3.0 Next review date: 30 July 2015 Department of Human Services Privacy Policy Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Purpose of this policy .................................................................................................................. 3 Who should read this privacy policy? .......................................................................................... 3 Outline of this policy .................................................................................................................... 4 Part A – Personal information handling practices ...................................................................... 5 Our obligations under the Privacy Act ......................................................................................... 5 What is ‘personal information’ and ‘sensitive information’? .......................................................... 5 Secrecy and confidentiality ...................................................................................................... 6 Anonymity and Pseudonymity ................................................................................................. 6 Why do we collect information about you, your partner and other people related to or associated with you? ..................................................................................................................................... 6 The personal information that we collect and hold ....................................................................... 7 Sensitive information ............................................................................................................... 8 How we collect and hold your personal information ..................................................................... 8 Storage and data security ....................................................................................................... 8 The purposes for which we use and disclose your personal information ..................................... 9 Sharing (using) your personal information across the department ........................................... 9 Disclosing your personal information to other parties .............................................................. 9 Data matching ....................................................................................................................... 10 Market research and you ....................................................................................................... 10 Electronic Messaging Service (SMS and email) .................................................................... 11 Disclosures to overseas recipients ........................................................................................ 11 Access and correction of personal information ...................................................................... 11 Part B – Information handling practices relating to the payments and services we deliver . 12 Common information handling practices across the department ............................................... 12 Why do we collect information about you? ............................................................................ 12 Collection of personal information (including sensitive information) ....................................... 12 Use of personal information (including sensitive information) ................................................ 13 Disclosures of personal information (including sensitive information) .................................... 14 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for employment purposes ............... 20 Collection of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) ........................................................................................................................... 20 Use of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) . 21 Disclosure of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) ........................................................................................................................... 21 PAGE 1 OF 57 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Medicare and Health Programme related purposes ....................................................................................................................... 22 Collection of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) .... 22 Use of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) .............. 25 Disclosures of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) .. 32 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Centrelink purposes .................. 33 Collection of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) ... 33 Use of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) ............ 37 Disclosures of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) 43 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Child Support purposes ............. 45 Collection of personal information in a Child Support context (including sensitive information) .............................................................................................................................................. 45 Use of personal information in a Child Support Context (including sensitive information) ...... 46 Disclosures of personal information in a Child Support Context (including sensitive information) ........................................................................................................................... 47 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Australian Hearing related purposes ................................................................................................................................... 49 Collection of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) ........................................................................................................................... 49 Use of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) .............................................................................................................................................. 49 Disclosure of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) ........................................................................................................................... 50 The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for CRS Australia-related purposes 50 Collection of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) .............................................................................................................................................. 50 Use of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) ...... 50 Disclosure of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) .............................................................................................................................................. 52 Part C – More Information .......................................................................................................... 53 How to access your personal information .................................................................................. 53 How to make a complaint about the handling of your personal information ............................... 53 Call us ................................................................................................................................... 53 Write to us ............................................................................................................................. 53 How to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ................. 54 Tax File Number Rules.............................................................................................................. 54 Attachment A: ........................................................................................................................... 55 Reciprocating Jurisdictions under the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 and the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance ............................................................................................. 55 PAGE 2 OF 57 Department of Human Services Introduction The Department of Human Services (the department) delivers social and health-related payments and services through: Medicare, which administers health related programmes such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Medicare Benefits Schedule, Australian Childhood Immunisation Register, Australian Organ Donor Register, and the National Bowel Screening Register. Centrelink, which delivers payments and services for seniors, job seekers, families, carers, parents, people with disability, Indigenous Australians, and people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. This includes the provision of services at times of major change or in severe and extreme circumstances. Child Support, which helps separated parents take joint responsibility for the financial support of their children by calculating how much child support should be paid and facilitating the collection and transfer of child support payments. CRS Australia, which helped disability employment services assist people with a disability, injury or health condition to get or keep a job, and help their employers to keep their workplaces safe. CRS Australia ceased delivering services on 27 February 2015. Australian Hearing, which helps people manage their hearing impairment so they have a better quality of life. Our website provides more information about the department. Purpose of this policy The department is required to have a Privacy Policy under Australian Privacy Principle 1. The Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) are set out in a Schedule to the Privacy Act 1988. The purpose of this privacy policy is to tell you about the personal information handling practices of the department. Who should read this privacy policy? You should read this policy if you are: seeking access to, or receiving, Medicare, Centrelink, Child Support or Australian Hearing services or payments a former participant, or were registered with, CRS Australia the partner, parent or sibling of a person seeking access to Centrelink payments responsible for making or receiving Child Support payments a third party, such as an employer or financial institution, who is required to provide information to the department or has been required by law to make payments on behalf of a Child Support customer receiving Child Support payments a third party who is required to provide information to the department a third party who is required by law to make payments on behalf of a Child Support customer an employer who is providing information to the department about a current or past employee an individual whose personal information may be given to, or held by, the department a contractor, consultant, supplier or vendor of goods or services to the department PAGE 3 OF 57 Department of Human Services seeking employment with the department an agent, representative or nominee of an individual who is seeking access to or receiving Medicare, Centrelink, Child Support or Australian Hearing services or payments an agent, representative or nominee of an individual who is required to provide information to the department an employee of the department. Outline of this policy Part A — Personal information handling practices, explains how we manage your personal information, including how we: collect, use, disclose and store your personal information manage your requests to access or correct your personal information held by the department. Part B —Information handling practices in relation to the payments and services we deliver, provides further information about how we manage your personal information when carrying out our functions or activities. Part B explains the information management practices that are common across the department and to whom you can generally expect the department to disclose your personal information, including when your information may be disclosed to overseas recipients. Part B also explains how your information is handled in the delivery of particular health, social and welfare payments or services. Part C — Complaints handling, explains how to make a complaint to the department about the handling of your personal information, including about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles. PAGE 4 OF 57 Department of Human Services Part A – Personal information handling practices This part covers how we collect and handle personal information, including the collection and handling of sensitive information. Our obligations under the Privacy Act This policy sets out how we comply with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles which are set out in a Schedule to that Act. The Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) regulate how the department, as an APP entity, must collect, use, disclose and store personal information. The APPs also give individuals the right to access and correct their personal information in certain circumstances. What is ‘personal information’ and ‘sensitive information’? The terms 'personal information' and ‘sensitive information’ come from section 6 of the Privacy Act. References to personal information throughout the Privacy Policy include sensitive information unless otherwise indicated. ‘Personal information’ means: Information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable: a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. ‘Sensitive information’ means: a) information or an opinion about an individual’s: i. racial or ethnic origin ii. political opinions iii. membership of a political association iv. religious beliefs or affiliations v. philosophical beliefs vi. membership of a professional or trade association vii. membership of a trade union viii. sexual orientation or practices ix. criminal record. b) health information about an individual c) genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health information d) biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification e) biometric templates. PAGE 5 OF 57 Department of Human Services Secrecy and confidentiality We operate under various legislation dealing with social security, family assistance, health, child support and family law. This legislation also contains secrecy and confidentiality provisions. These provisions govern access to, use and disclosure of information about our customers. The secrecy and confidentiality provisions restrict the communication of protected information and specify under which circumstances, and to whom, we can lawfully release and use customer information (including uses within the department). Anonymity and Pseudonymity The Australian Privacy Principles give you the option of not identifying yourself, or using a pseudonym (alias) when dealing with us, unless: we are required or authorised by law to deal only with individuals who have identified themselves it is impracticable to deal with individuals on an anonymous basis or who are using an alias. We provide online services such as payment finder that enables our customers to make anonymous enquiries about certain payments and services. If you contact us on an anonymous basis, or by using an alias (for instance to make a general enquiry or to make a complaint) we will only be able to provide general information to you. In order to give you information specific to your circumstances, we will need to establish your identity. We may be unable to progress or resolve your specific issue if you choose not to identify yourself. So we can make payments and deliver services to you, we will need to know who you are. This is in order to assess and satisfy eligibility requirements for payments or services. Why do we collect information about you, your partner and other people related to or associated with you? We collect information for Proof of Identity (POI) purposes, the administration of payments and services and for research and analysis. We also collect information for administrative purposes, such as processing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, managing compensation claims, conducting entitlement reviews and fraud investigations, conducting data matching, providing services in culturally appropriate ways, conducting statistical analysis to improve service delivery to customers, participating in merits and judicial review matters and for the allocation of healthcare identifiers. We collect information about Centrelink customers to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, link customer’s claims with their partner, child(ren) or other relatives to ensure correct payments, and verify data provided in relation to claims and reviews with third parties. We collect information about Child Support customers for the purpose of assessing eligibility for child support, calculating how much child support is payable and collecting child support in accordance with the provisions of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. We collect information in a Health Programmes context about customers and service providers to pay benefits for Medicare (and the Medicare Safety Net), and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We also collect information for eHealth Programmes including Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records and the Healthcare Identifiers service to ensure compliance with the programmes we administer. You can find more information about the type of information collected and the purposes for which it is collected in Part B. PAGE 6 OF 57 Department of Human Services The personal information that we collect and hold We need to collect certain personal information about you in order to properly deliver the social, healthrelated and other payments and services that we manage on behalf of the Australian government. We may collect this directly from you or third parties (such as your family, other government agencies or private organisations) where necessary. When we collect your personal information, it must be reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, the payments or services that we deliver. The type of personal information collected will depend on the kind of payment or service that you are seeking, or that we are delivering to you, and the legislation under which the payment or service is provided. The collection of personal information may be specifically required or authorised by law, including (but not limited to) the following legislation under which the department delivers payments and services: Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 Health Insurance Act 1973 Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997 Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 Social Security Act 1991 Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012 Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 Student Assistance Act 1973 Private Health Insurance Act 2007 Medical Indemnity Act 2002 We may collect your personal information where we are authorised or required by law, where you have consented, or where the information is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions or activities. We also collect information from a range of sources for law enforcement purposes, and in some circumstances we may collect your personal information where a permitted general situation exists (as defined in the Privacy Act, such as to prevent a serious threat to safety). We may collect personal information about you from third parties, such as the Australian Taxation Office or other government agencies, educational institutions, correctional facilities, banks and financial institutions, family members, nominees, representatives, partners or private businesses such as real estate agents. This may be to verify information you have provided, or to gather additional information about your circumstances to further assist in the administration of payments and services. We collect personal information about employees and prospective employees in order to conduct employment and employment-related activities such as payroll services, recruitment and selection, performance management and work health and safety. The collection of personal information about employees and prospective employees may also be authorised by the Public Service Act 1999. PAGE 7 OF 57 Department of Human Services Sensitive information The Australian Privacy Principles impose additional obligations on the department when collecting, using or disclosing sensitive information. We may only collect sensitive information where: you consent to the collection; or the collection is required or authorised by law or a court/tribunal order; or we are carrying out our enforcement functions or activities and the information is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, those functions or activities; or a ‘permitted general situation’ exists, as defined by the Privacy Act 1988, such as to prevent a serious threat to safety. We collect sensitive information for the purposes of assessing eligibility for claims, payments or services or for employment functions such as providing for staff with disabilities. Additional information about the activities and functions for which we collect personal information can be found in Part B of this privacy policy. How we collect and hold your personal information We collect personal information through a variety of channels, including: paper forms or notices search warrants online portals (such as myGov and mobile apps) other electronic or paper correspondence face to face in service centres over the phone. We collect and receive personal information from third parties including other government agencies. This may occur as a result of a tip off when undertaking data matching, in the course of administering legislation, lodgement of a complaint or in the context of enforcement activities. Generally, when your personal information is collected from someone other than you, we will have taken steps to inform you, either by way of this privacy policy, application forms, notices or through discussions with our staff that such a collection has occurred. Further information about the circumstances in which we collect personal information, including the collection of personal information from third parties can be found in Part B of this privacy policy. Storage and data security We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold against misuse, interference, loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include: paper records are held securely in accordance with Australian government security guidelines access to personal information is on a need-to-know basis, by authorised personnel our premises have secure access storage and data security systems and protections are regularly updated and audited. When no longer required, personal information is destroyed in a secure manner, or archived or deleted in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act and Archives Act 1983. Personal information obtained under search warrant is disposed of in accordance with the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914. PAGE 8 OF 57 Department of Human Services The purposes for which we use and disclose your personal information Your personal information will be used and disclosed for purposes that help us assess eligibility for payments and services, both current and historical, and to deliver those payments and services to you, your partner, parents and/or siblings. This includes where we manage or deliver other programmes and initiatives on behalf of the Australian Government. Your personal information will not be used for purposes unrelated to the purpose for which it was originally collected unless the other use is authorised or required by or under law, or one of the other exceptions in the Australian Privacy Principles apply. Some of the legislation under which the department operates, such as the social security law, family assistance law, child support legislation and Medicare-related legislation contains secrecy and confidentiality provisions. These provisions also govern the manner in which we may make a record of, use and disclose information about our customers. Sharing (using) your personal information across the department Your personal information will not be shared across our service areas unless you have given your consent, or the sharing of your information in this way is authorised or required by or under law or the use is otherwise permitted by the Australian Privacy Principles. In some instances, you may elect to share personal information such as your contact details across the Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support services. For instance you may choose to update your address with the department for Medicare and Centrelink services. Disclosing your personal information to other parties We will not disclose your personal information to anyone, including to other government agencies, organisations or third parties unless: you have consented; or the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law; or the disclosure is otherwise permitted by the APPs; or those records determined to be part of the archival resources of the Commonwealth. When, why, and to whom your personal information may be disclosed depends on the payments or services to which the information relates, and the legislation under which we are delivering those payments and services to you. Disclosures of personal information are routinely made by or under law, to the following entities: Administrative Appeals Tribunal Attorney-General’s Department Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Australian Taxation Office Commonwealth investigation and auditing agencies such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Australian National Audit Office Department of Education Department of Employment Department of Health PAGE 9 OF 57 Department of Human Services Department of Immigration and Border Protection Department of Social Services Department of Veterans’ Affairs Health Care Complaints Commission Law enforcement agencies Professional Services Review Department of Environment Department of Industry Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet National Disability Insurance Agency Reserve Bank of Australia. Sometimes we need to ensure the information we collect about you is correct. To do that we may disclose your personal details to third parties such as banks. See Part B of this policy for more information about the circumstances in which your personal information may be disclosed. Data matching We conduct data matching activities in accordance with legislation and legally binding guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. We comply with a Programme Protocol for each of our data matching programmes in accordance with guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Copies of the Protocols are available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website. The Australian Information Commissioner audits the department's compliance with the Data-matching Programme (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990. Market research and you We are committed to continuous improvement, and may conduct research to find out what you think about a range of issues, including the payments and services that we deliver. We generally contract external companies to conduct this research on our behalf. Where the research is related to our payments and services, we may provide your contact details to those companies. If we do disclose your contact details, the company is required to keep your information secure and has signed a confidentiality agreement which prohibits the use of your information other than for the contracted purposes. Results of market research activities do not reveal the identity of participants or link the feedback or comments provided to them. Your participation in market research activities will not affect the services or payments you receive from us. A decision not to participate in a market research exercise will also not affect the payments or services we provide to you. Occasionally we may agree to assist other government departments or non-government organisations to conduct research that relates to some of our customers or which aligns with our customers’ needs or experiences. For instance, we may assist a third party undertaking research on family law issues. Disclosure of personal information for the purposes of research occurs where: you have consented the disclosure is required or authorised by or under law PAGE 10 OF 57 Department of Human Services the disclosure is otherwise permitted by the APPs. Electronic Messaging Service (SMS and email) From time to time we may send you an SMS alert or an email reminder. You may receive electronic messages by SMS or email from us if you have provided a mobile phone number or an email address. The purpose of these alerts is to provide you with information about our services, remind you to make a payment, remind you to complete a form by a certain date, or to advise you of an office location. SMS or email reminders from us will not contain your name or contact details, reference numbers or direct links to websites. You will not be asked to respond via SMS or email to any of these communications. Where appropriate, we may send you an SMS or email instead of a letter. Messages you may receive include: requests and reminders to attend appointments requests and reminders to provide documents requests and reminders to provide up to date information notification of decisions notification of payments confirmation of changes to your details information about payments and services. We consider that a message has been received by you once it has been sent to the service provider and has been forwarded to your account. You should ensure personal safeguards are in place to protect yourself, your computer, and your mobile phone against security threats. You are able to withdraw from this service at any time. Disclosures to overseas recipients We may disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient, such as a foreign government or agency, where international information sharing arrangements are in place or the disclosure is required or authorised by law. Additional information about overseas disclosures is included in Part B of this Privacy Policy. Access and correction of personal information You may request access to, and correction of, your personal information. See Freedom of Information for more details about how to do this. PAGE 11 OF 57 Department of Human Services Part B – Information handling practices relating to the payments and services we deliver This part provides further detail about the various purposes for which we collect, hold and use personal information and to whom we disclose personal information, including information about overseas recipients. Common information handling practices across the department Why do we collect information about you? Part A provides general information about why we collect information from you. Part B explains the reasons why we collect, use and disclose information, that are common across Centrelink, Child Support, Medicare, Australian Hearing and the former services of CRS Australia. You can find specific information about collection, use and disclosure within the Centrelink, Child Support, Medicare, CRS Australia and Australian Hearing contexts after this ‘common information’. Collection of personal information (including sensitive information) We routinely collect the following personal information in order to deliver payments and services to customers and as part of our day-to-day operations as an Australian Government department: for the purpose of assessing eligibility for and administering payments to customers, including for proof of identity and information release purposes, we collect: o name, address, date of birth and age of customers o gender, occupation, marital status, parentage details, details of dependents, details about customers’ physical or mental health, including disabilities, relationship details, employment status and visa status o details of relatives including names, addresses and contact details o details about family violence indicators, disabilities and special contact requirements o details about a customer’s account reference number, deduction amount, target amount or deduction end date in relation to a third party organisation o racial or ethnic origin, indigenous/diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (DCALB) identifier to help us provide better services to customers in culturally appropriate ways (for example through the use of interpreters or specialist officers) o department reference/identification numbers including Medicare number, Child Support Identifier (CSRN), Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN), Release of Benefits (ROB) number Individual Healthcare Identifier number, DVA File number and/or Individual Reference Numbers o details of benefit history and current status o information about a person’s interaction with us and alleged loss or injury for the purposes of assessing compensation claims o customer consent for the collection, use or disclosure of their personal information o employer details, including ABN, employee number, trading name and contact officer for the purposes of registering Paid Parental Leave employers o details of complaints or compliments about services provided by us for the purposes of complaint resolution and service improvement PAGE 12 OF 57 Department of Human Services o images through photographs and CCTV footage for the purposes of customer and staff security, and (in some circumstances) internal communication purposes o witness statements and compliance related intelligence for fraud investigation purposes o optical surveillance in situations where there is reasonable suspicion of fraudulent activity and serious cases of child support avoidance or income minimisation for the purpose of administering Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, other Medicarerelated services and the Healthcare Identifiers service, in addition to the information above we collect: o personal details of health practitioners o religious or political affiliation (if relevant) for the provision of health services for the purpose of research where there is a clear benefit to the Australian public, and for information release purposes we collect: o personal details of representatives of other entities/agencies/organisations who request personal information about customers. Use of personal information (including sensitive information) The information referred to above is routinely used for the following purposes: delivering payments and services, including for proof of identity purposes complaints management and the coordination of feedback and compliments about us, including: o the assessment and investigation of complaints or allegations (including complaints/allegations brought to our attention by external bodies such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) and to record our action and response to assess whether entities/agencies/organisations are eligible to participate in programmes such as Centrepay, Centrelink Confirmation eServices, Income Management or the BasicsCard internal merits review processes, including for instance, the review of decisions made under the social security and family assistance law, child support legislation, Health Insurance Act 1973 or Freedom of Information Act 1982 external reviews conducted with external authorities such as child protection agencies reviewing eligibility or allocation of income management funds managing and responding to requests for information, including requests for information made under our administrative Information Release scheme, the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act and various secrecy and confidentiality provisions under which we operate to establish and consider a compensation claim against us use of photos and images obtained by CCTV for the purposes of: o conducting fraud investigations, including internal fraud o building security o employee/contractor identification o promotional or social activities use of details of alleged or proven criminal activity in fraud investigations, including internal fraud and to assess payment eligibility, including crisis payment assessment PAGE 13 OF 57 Department of Human Services for data matching purposes to detect incorrect payments of social security, family assistance and student assistance entitlements and to minimise the instances of fraud, including internal fraud for statistical analysis including: o responding to requests for statistical (de-identified) data o to assist in the assessment, development and identification of service strategies including those to assist cohorts of customers for employment related purposes including: o establishment and maintenance of reliable staff records o for the employment and recruitment of permanent, casual, ongoing, non-ongoing and contractor staff for recruitment related activities: o recruitment details, including resumes and CVs, will only be available to the applicant and staff involved in the relevant recruitment/selection process o security purposes, including obtaining and maintaining security clearances (including criminal history checks) o information provided by applicants may be used by us at any stage of the selection process and for up to 12 months after the relevant application was made. Disclosures of personal information (including sensitive information) We may disclose your personal information to ensure any further information we collect is about the correct individual. For example, where we identify a potential discrepancy in the income you have declared, we may issue an information gathering notice to your employer seeking employment records. To enable the employer to identify you we will provide your full name and date of birth. Information is routinely disclosed to Australian Government agencies, state and territory agencies and third parties for the purpose of detecting and investigating cases of serious non-compliance and fraud and for the purposes noted below. To other Australian Government agencies Attorney-General’s Department o the Child Support Programme may refer details of a child support matter to the Attorney-General’s Department in circumstances where an action is required to be brought before the courts under one of Australia’s international maintenance obligations – for example where an overseas authority has requested assistance in establishing parentage of a child who lives in their jurisdiction and the alleged father is a resident of Australia o information may be disclosed to determine entitlement and receive policy advice and direction related to the delivery of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, the Disaster Recovery Allowance, related ex-gratia payments and the Australian Victims of Terrorism Overseas Payment Australian Competition and Consumer Commission o we consult with regulatory authorities and exchanges information regarding Centrepay arrangements Australian Crime Commission Australian Electoral Commission PAGE 14 OF 57 Department of Human Services Australian Human Rights Commission Australian Institute of Health and Welfare o for the purposes of Commonwealth data integration projects, for health and welfare research Australian Public Service Commission Australian Securities and Investment Commission o we consult with regulatory authorities and exchange information regarding Centrepay arrangements Australian Taxation Office o for the purpose of administering child support o personal information is provided to the Australian Taxation Office for the purpose of identity matching. Matched customer income and investment details are returned to the department to assist in the determination of eligibility and entitlement to Centrelink benefits o to assist with the administration of Medicare services Comcare for the purposes of reporting claims made against us and managing those claims Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office, in accordance with the Ombudsman Act 1976 ComSuper and other superannuation administrators o personal information is provided to ComSuper for the purpose of identity matching. Matched customer investment details are returned to us to assist in the determination of eligibility and entitlement to Centrelink benefits CRIMTRAC, for criminal history checks for recruitment, ongoing security and employment purposes Defence Housing Authority Department of Defence, to the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency for security clearance purposes Department of Education, to assist in the clarification and application of Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate policy and for the purposes of investigating possible legislative breaches. Department of Employment o The Department of Employment is responsible for the management of Employment Services Providers. The Department of Employment and the Department of Social Services may need to access personal information to ensure that the services provided to customers are appropriate Department of Finance for the payment of compensation claims in accordance with the provisions of Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 Department of the Environment o Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade o For the Green Army Policy we may forward information relating to a child support matter to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the purposes of meeting Australia’s international maintenance obligations when one parent resides overseas, and the relevant overseas authority has requested that correspondence be forwarded via the diplomatic channel Department of Health PAGE 15 OF 57 Department of Human Services o on some occasions we disclose personal information to the Department of Health in relation to matters relevant to the Minister or the department, such as Medicare compliance activity, Professional Services Review matters and Medicare Participation Review Committee matters Department of Immigration and Border Protection Department of Industry Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development Department of Social Services o information may be disclosed to determine entitlement to Paid Parental Leave or Dad and Partner pay, for act of grace payments and policy advice/direction o information may be disclosed in accordance with the relevant Act to determine entitlement to payment schemes administered by the Department of Social Services o the Department of Social Services is responsible for ensuring that Job Capacity Assessments and Employment Services Assessments are efficient and effective. The Department of Employment and the Department of Social Services may therefore need to access your personal information to ensure that the services provided to you are appropriate Department of Veterans’ Affairs and other contracted service providers for the purpose of social security, family and child support law Fair Work Commission o in some cases, information may need to be disclosed to the Commission where the Commission follows up Paid Parental Leave payments that have been forwarded to the employer to deliver but have not been received by the employee Law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, AUSTRAC and to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the purposes of investigating suspected unlawful activity and to facilitate the prosecution of offences Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and in the context of responding to investigations conducted by that Office receiving Commonwealth agencies on movement or re-engagement of staff Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Professional Services Review Medicare Participation Review Committees Administrative Appeals Tribunal Reserve Bank of Australia o for the purpose of making payments to recipients on behalf of the department. Other state and territory government agencies child protection agencies, for the purposes of administering Income Management and the care and welfare of children state and territory departments of Corrective Services state and territory government departments responsible for the retention of land title information state and territory Offices of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages PAGE 16 OF 57 Department of Human Services state and territory housing agencies, or third party organisations contracted under a housing management agreement, in the administration of Income Management and the Rent Deduction Scheme state and territory offices, such as the Victorian Department of Human Services, to inform support and services for you (this will only be done with your consent) other state and territory government agencies appointed by the Australian Government as an approved referring authority for the purposes of Income Management state and territory courts (Commonwealth criminal matters, including offences relating to Medicare fraud, are prosecuted in State and Territory courts exercising Commonwealth jurisdiction. Debt recovery action is also commenced in State and Territory courts) law enforcement agencies. Organisations, including educational organisations Australia Post contracted translator services contracted surveillance providers educational institutions and private providers of education and training o personal information is provided to the education and training providers for the purpose of identity matching. Matched customer enrolment and study load details are returned to the department to assist in the determination of eligibility and entitlement to Centrelink benefits external legal services providers for the purposes of obtaining legal advice financial institutions o personal information is provided to financial institutions for the purposed of identity matching. Matched customer account details are returned to us to assist in the determination of eligibility and entitlement to Centrelink benefits insurance providers for the payment of compensation claims in accordance with the provisions of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 personal information of identified consent study participants disclosed to the study body, applicable ethics committees and relevant departmental policy departments recruitment information may also be disclosed to previous employers, educational organisations and other agencies or persons as part of a pre-employment check to establish your identity, eligibility and suitability for employment private debt collection agents, for the purposes of recovering debts to the Commonwealth third party organisations providing health, financial, council, education, utility, legal, superannuation, transport, welfare and housing services use Centrelink Confirmation eServices (CceS) to confirm a customer’s entitlement status for Customer, Income and Superannuation Confirmation third party organisations that customers have requested the department to send deductions to from their Centrelink payments under the Centrepay programme approved Financial Management Programme Service providers as appointed by DSS. PAGE 17 OF 57 Department of Human Services Individuals authorised representatives, including nominees and state/private trustees o an Employment Services Assessment or Job Capacity Assessment report may be released to an authorised nominee on request by the customer, the nominee or PPE (Person Permitted to Enquire) o personal information may be released to a third party where there is a power of attorney or Guardianship/Administration Order in place FOI applicants, in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 requestors of data for statistical and research purposes. Other Medicare and PBS related information, in accordance with the release/disclosure provisions in the Health Insurance Act 1973 and National Health Act 1953 Centrelink information, in accordance with the release/ disclosure provisions in the A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Administration) Act 1999, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 or the Student Assistance Act 1973 Child Support Programme information, to parties to child support cases, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, response to ministerial correspondence or customer complaints in accordance with the release and disclosure provisions in the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 in relation to Paid Parental Leave, the claimant’s employer will be contacted in accordance with the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 when they are required to deliver Parental Leave Pay Family Court of Australia to data matching agencies in accordance with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s data-matching guidelines. Overseas disclosures We may disclose personal information to governments and agencies of overseas countries in certain circumstances. These include: Reciprocal Health Care Agreements o the Australian Government has agreements with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway International Agreements and Conventions about International Maintenance Obligations (Child Support) o The Australian Government has bilateral agreements on the mutual recognition and recovery of child support and maintenance liabilities with New Zealand and the United States of America o Australia is also a contracting state to the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 and the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (UNCRAM), and has historical arrangements with a number of other jurisdictions based on the mutual laws of Australia and the other jurisdiction. PAGE 18 OF 57 Department of Human Services Under these arrangements Australia may do the following: collect and disclose information about an individual where information is requested by an overseas authority and it is necessary or convenient to respond under the terms of a particular international maintenance arrangement request information from an overseas authority in a reciprocating jurisdiction where that information is required to administer child support law disclose information to an overseas authority in relation to a maintenance liability that has been established or registered by an overseas authority on behalf of a payee who resides in their jurisdiction. This information could be provided to any of the 97 reciprocating jurisdictions in which the payee resides disclose information to request the overseas authority to enforce the liability where a child support assessment or other maintenance liability is registered with us and the paying parent resides in a reciprocating jurisdiction. This information could be provided to any of the 97 reciprocating jurisdictions in which the payer resides. A list of reciprocating jurisdictions is at Attachment A. International Social Security Agreements Australia has agreements with a number of countries to share responsibility for social security coverage, including: Austria Belgium Canada Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Japan Korea Latvia the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Malta The Netherlands PAGE 19 OF 57 Department of Human Services New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Switzerland United States of America. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for employment purposes We place great emphasis on protecting the personal information of our prospective and ongoing staff, including contractors. We collect the personal information of staff for: employment related purposes as required under the Public Service Act 1999 and related subordinate legislation to perform employment and payroll services and functions employment related purposes in relation to an applicable Enterprise Agreement or other industrial instrument made under the Fair Work Act 2009 the purposes of the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 the purposes of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 the purposes of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011 the purposes the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and any other relevant discrimination legislation where applicable to employment related purposes the purposes of any other applicable industrial legislation or subordinate legislation, including but not limited to, the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973, and the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 determination of visa and work rights as part of conducting suitability interviews for employment purposes. Collection of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) In addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy, we collect the following information in an employment context: information such as name, date and place of birth, relationships, address history, education, employment history, citizenship, visa and work rights, financial circumstances, identification documentation, resumes and criminal intelligence information personal information such as equal employment opportunity data, salary information, attendance records, work history and performance appraisals for maintaining staff records staff contact details, including emergency contact information. PAGE 20 OF 57 Department of Human Services Use of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) In addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy, we use the following information in an employment context to determine eligibility and suitability for employment or contract engagement, including referee checks and criminal history checks to determine suitability of ongoing employment in a particular role and access to particular departmental systems, including ongoing criminal history checks to maintain employment history, payroll and administrative information relating to all permanent, contract and temporary staff members, personal information such as EEO data, salary information, attendance records, work history and performance appraisals to investigate and respond to possible staff fraud or misconduct, including unauthorised access to obtain and maintain security clearances to take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of employees and customers to conduct pre-employment and ongoing employment criminal history checks employment data may be used internally for the purposes of determining how staff services are targeted and provided staff contact details and emergency contact information may be used for emergency management purposes. Disclosure of personal information for our employment purposes (including sensitive information) Information may be disclosed to: previous employers, educational organisations and other agencies or persons as part of a preemployment check including referee reports Comcare for the purpose of managing compensation and other claims and/or the management of work place support services Department of Finance, Comcover, for the purpose of assessing and managing claims in accordance with the Comcover Insurance Policy consultant health practitioners for the purpose of providing health services to staff including pre-employment medicals and fitness for continued duty assessments consultant investigators, police, prosecutors and courts for the purpose of investigating misconduct Australian Public Service Commission for the purposes of administering the Public Service Act 1999 Department of Defence, Australian Government Security Vetting Agency to obtain and maintain security clearances CRIMTAC to obtain pre and ongoing employment criminal history checks state and territory bodies which administer working with children and vulnerable people checks, for the purposes of verifying such checks ComSuper and other superannuation administrators for the purposes of payment of staff superannuation contributions Australian Taxation Office in accordance with our obligations to advise of salary and taxation payments PAGE 21 OF 57 Department of Human Services the Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court, Fair Work Commission, and/or the Australian Human Rights Commission, Administrative Appeals Tribunal and/or other judicial or quasi-judicial bodies, for purposes including the defence or settling of disputes and/or complaints the Commonwealth Ombudsman and/or Fair Work Ombudsman, for the purposes of responding to complaints legal service providers, for the purpose of obtaining legal advice and representation a receiving agency following movement or re-engagement of staff. Such disclosures may include criminal history information and other employment information emergency services for emergency management purposes. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Medicare and Health Programme related purposes We administer Medicare on behalf of the Department of Health, which is responsible for developing Medicare policy. Medicare looks after the health of Australians through a variety of programmes such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register, Australian Organ Donor Register and the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register. We collect information in a Medicare context about customers and service providers to pay benefits for Medicare (and the Medicare Safety Net), and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We also collect information for Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records and to ensure compliance with the programmes we administer. Collection of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) In addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy, we collect the following information in a Medicare context. Individual information copies of birth certificates residency status compensation case name and number consumer number criminal convictions and criminal intelligence details of an award or settlement in relation to workers compensation, third party insurance or common law settlement retails of those with whom individual usually resides entitlement information, including Medicare entitlement start and end dates, concessional status and eligibility date Family Safety Net number and the status of each member of Medicare Safety Net family registrations (family contact, spouse, child dependant and dependent student) overpayment details personal identification number PAGE 22 OF 57 Department of Human Services status of eligibility and payments received under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme (VCES) or the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004, or the Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS) from the Department of Veterans Affairs Tax File Numbers (where collection is authorised) travel records and documents, including copies of passports veteran's entitlement card number and other associated item numbers specific to DVA claims white card holder status and details of related disability superannuation fund name(s) legal documents, including information about power of attorney, court orders for the purpose of administering the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Programme – employee and employer personal information including contact details and the details of superannuation funds for the purpose of administering the Cleft Lip and Palate Scheme – patient registration card details including dates of issue and expiry for the purpose of administering the Compensation Recovery program – contact details of insurance providers and solicitors salary details. Medical information details of medical procedures, including photographs regarding medical conditions and procedures, Medicare Benefits Schedule item numbers, date the medical service was provided, and provider number of rendering provider and payment type financial information and details on services used and benefits claimed by a member of the public or a health practitioner/practice or business (pharmacy) prescription information, including prescription and claim form, prescriber number and name of doctor, patient entitlement number, drug prescription information (including description of drug prescribed and supplied, quantity of drug, instructions for drug use, repeat details and dates of prescription and supply), approved supplier number(s) and patient's or agent's signature physical or mental health, including specific details about disabilities and immunohistological evidence Prisoner Of War (POW) indicator Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims information records of correspondence and information in respect of medical practitioners, allied health providers, dentists, pharmacists and patients collated during the process of investigation, audit, education, counselling and/or recoveries. Records are also held for General Practitioner practices, Private Health funds and Medical Indemnity Insurers records of general correspondence with health practitioners, pharmacists and the general public in relation to compliance matters the duration of referral for any specialist service including pathology and diagnostic services summary statistics on use of services and benefits paid in our administered programmes by an individual or groups of patients. PAGE 23 OF 57 Department of Human Services Practitioner/Healthcare Provider information authorised representatives of practice sites benefits review details company affiliations court documents, including invoices and policy information relating to Medical Indemnity Claims details of past and present medical practices and standing in the medical profession financial information and details on services used and benefits claimed by a member of the public or a health practitioner/practice or business (pharmacy) information about community care providers, community nurses, convalescent care providers, medical grade footwear prescribers, neuropsychologists, optometrical dispensers, prosthetic manufacturers and residential aged care facilities insurer name Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for eligible providers main proprietor’s details - sole trader, company or partnership overpayment details peer group evaluations of practitioners provider and practice details, including occupation, qualifications, residency status, professional membership details, practice or pharmacy location and financial information (including bank account details and details of debt owed to us) records of correspondence and information in respect of medical practitioners, allied health providers, dentists, pharmacists and patients collated during the process of investigation, audit, education, counselling and/or recoveries. Records are also held for General Practitioner practices, private health funds and Medical Indemnity Insurers records of general correspondence with health practitioners, pharmacists and the general public in relation to compliance matters records of general correspondence with health practitioners in relation to provider registration Section 19AB exemption details under the Health Insurance Act 1973, as issued by the delegate of the Minister for Health and Ageing service details, including services rendered and medication dispensed the personal information of approved pathology practitioners, authorities, laboratories and collection centres Healthcare Identifier Service organisation and individual identifying information. Other personal information of Committee or Tribunal members, specific medical or dental practitioners, optometrists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, podiatrists, osteopaths, pharmacists and patients United Medical Protection (UMP) Support Payment liability Western Australian Government Medical Services Schedule item number aged care facility admission details. PAGE 24 OF 57 Department of Human Services Use of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) In the context of delivering Medicare services and performing Medicare functions, we will routinely use personal information in the following circumstances and for the purposes listed below. Individual health information to enable the allocation of individual healthcare identifiers for the efficient management of an individual’s personal health information, in accordance with the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 to confirm authorisation, the personal information of persons who are authorised to interact with the Healthcare Identifiers Service on behalf of a healthcare organisation registered with the Healthcare Identifiers Service for the purpose of administering the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to maintain Pharmaceutical Benefits claims history to record Commonwealth subsidised benefit payments for the cost of medicines supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in accordance with the National Health Act 1953. This information is used for audit purposes and to allow us to assess payments of pharmaceutical benefits to allow the payment of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme benefits in accordance with the National Health Act 1953 to record entitlement of benefits under the safety net arrangements of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to maintain the PBS and RPBS Authorities system, to capture approval related details for the prescription and supply of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme authority required medication to record and process refunds of pharmaceutical benefits patient contributions in accordance with section 87A of the National Health Act 1953 to establish Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme patient entitlement tables to assess a person's eligibility for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The Medicare system (Medicare Safety Net Patient Refund and the General Practitioner bulk billing incentive) also uses these records to assess if a person has concession entitlement at a determined date in time to establish and maintain Pharmaceutical Benefits mailing lists, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch software vendor assistance payment system, the Community pharmacy agreement intranet database to maintain the complex drug patient database to support patient eligibility to receive specialised drugs. This applies where the complex drug (for example, imatinib mesylate (Glivec®), infliximab (Remicade®), trastuzumab (Herceptin®) (for early stage breast cancer) is part of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, in accordance with sections 85 and section 100 of the National Health Act 1953 to maintain patient treatment detail under the Botulinum Toxin Programme administered in accordance with the National Health Act 1953 under special section 100 arrangements to determine patient eligibility to receive trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for late stage metastatic breast cancer as prescribed in section 7A of the Medicare Australia Act 1973 to facilitate payments to state and territory health departments for dispensing Highly Specialised Drugs (HSD) in public hospitals PAGE 25 OF 57 Department of Human Services utilising information received from approved suppliers with authority to prescribe using online claiming for PBS, Claims Transmission System (CTS) or manual claims, develop Pharmaceutical Benefits Information System reports, using information as a registered Repository Operator for the Personally Controlled eHealth Record to conduct the Prescription Shopping Programme in line with the Human Services (Medicare) Regulations 1975, including the Prescription Shopping Information Service (PSIS) doctor registration database to establish and maintain the Pharmacy approval register to record details of applications for approval to supply pharmaceutical benefits under the National Health Act 1953 to maintain patient treatment detail under the In Vitro Fertilisation/Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (IVF/GIFT) Programme administered in accordance with the National Health Act 1953 under special section 100 arrangements. Aged Care to administer Aged Care – Client Record (form 3020) relating to applications for entry to a residential care facility and for receipt of Community Care and Flexible Care to maintain Aged Care – Community Aged Care Packages claim forms and payment summaries, for the purpose of processing and administering claims for subsidy by Community Aged Care packages for individual recipients to assess and maintain Aged Care – Extended Aged Care At Home – Dementia (EACHD) claim forms and payment statements and Aged Care – Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) claim forms and payment statements to establish and maintain Aged Care Online Claiming services including subsidy by Transitional Care services to establish and maintain appointment of a nominee records to enable residents of nursing homes to authorise another person to deal with us on their behalf to establish and maintain applications for eligible oxygen treatment and/or enteral feeding supplement to provide supplementary information (under section 44-13 Oxygen Supplement and section 44.14 Enteral Feeding Supplement of the Aged Care Act 1997), to the 'Claim for Australian Government Subsidy for Care Recipients in Approved Residential Care Facilities' to establish and maintain Resident entry record for permanent care for the purpose providing supplementary information to the 'Claim for Australian Government Subsidy for Care Recipients in Approved Residential Care Facilities' to maintain records of Claims for Australian Government subsidy for care recipients in approved residential care facilities to process claims for residential Aged Care facilities, in respect of individual residents, for residential care subsidies under section 43-4 of the Aged Care Act 1997 to maintain Aged Care funding instrument application for classification records to calculate the appropriate level of funding for residential facilities based on an assessment, under part 2.4 of the Aged Care Act 1997, of the care recipients’ needs to maintain Aged Care – Acknowledgement of residents who qualify for the new Aged Care Supplement at 1 July 2012 (Basic Daily Fee Supplement) records, to receive an acknowledgement from an Aged Care Service Provider to record their participation in the Aged Care Provider Measure (Measure 7) for the nominated aged care resident(s). This acknowledgement is recorded in the Aged Care system to calculate the supplement. The purpose of these records is to record details of PAGE 26 OF 57 Department of Human Services assessments by Aged Care Assessment Teams and to record client approval for entry to Residential Aged Care Facilities and for receipt of Community Care and Flexible Care to undertake income assessments of residents of Aged Care facilities to determine the daily fees payable by residents and the Government subsidies payable to approved aged care service providers. Audit and compliance to advance an audit or inquiry where a medical practitioner, allied health provider, dental practitioner, pharmacist or other person enrolled in the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme programmes have been the subject of or identified in relation to an audit or inquiry in the pursuit of programme integrity investigations to enable us to carry out its committee and tribunal secretariat functions related to compliance activities within investigators' and managers' diaries for the purpose of recording daily professional activities to identify non-compliance, fraud, including internal fraud and inappropriate practice in the programmes we administer in accordance with Section 86 of the Health Insurance Act 1973, delegates of the department making requests to the Director of Professional Services Review for the purpose of compliance monitoring and activities, personal information of health practitioners, pharmacists, pharmacies, medical practice staff, members of the public, approved pathology providers and approved pathology authorities is collected and used for the purposes of the statutory functions of a Medicare Participation Review Committee, established under the Health Insurance Act 1973 for the purpose of maintaining debtor records for details of monies owed to us to conduct procurement and contract management activities to establish General Practice Recognition Appeal Committee files for the purpose of undertaking a Review of Compliance Audit decisions, when an application has been received from a health professional. Medicare enrolment and claiming (including Safety Net) to maintain Medicare public enrolment records by enrolling and identifying eligible persons for the purpose of administering Medicare services to enrol and maintain records of children under 7 years of age on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register Medicare and Department of Veterans’ Affairs provider registration records are maintained for the purpose of identifying eligible providers and prescribers and to record their qualifications and status for the payment of Medicare and DVA benefits to allow the payment of Department of Veterans’ Affairs benefits to enable the Medicare Claims Review Panel (MCRP) to assess patient claims for payment of Medicare benefits based on a 'demonstrated' clinical need Medicare claim history is used for the purpose of recording and assessing payments of Medicare benefits for audit purposes and for the Compensation Recovery Programme and for policy and financial planning of the Medicare programme PAGE 27 OF 57 Department of Human Services Medicare claims history for recording an expense that has been incurred for a professional service for which Medicare benefits have been claimed to enable processing of electronic claims in accordance with section 16A of the Health Insurance Act 1973, a Pathology approval and registration system is maintained to determine eligibility for the payment of Medicare benefits for pathology services to establish Medicare Safety Net Family Registration records to establish a family composition and record entitlement to benefits under the safety net arrangements of the Medicare programme administration of the Child Dental Benefits Schedule administration of the Dental Benefits Act 2008 (the Dental Act), the Dental Benefits Rules 2008 (the Dental Rules) and the Dental Benefits (Consequential Amendments) Act 2008 ensured amendment of other affected legislation, including the Health Insurance Act 1973 to review personal information of persons who have received services from health providers working in non-teaching public hospitals in Western Australia, and to assess invoices submitted by the Department of Health Western Australia for the payment of benefits under the Western Australian Visiting Medical Practitioner (WAVMP) programme to process claims from Aboriginal Health Services to maintain Department of Veterans’ Affairs Veteran Registration (Cross reference file) to identify persons eligible for payments under the Veterans Entitlement Act 1986, and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 on behalf of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to maintain Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims history records to assess claims and benefits paid on behalf of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) under the Veterans Entitlement Act 1986 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The records can also be used for audits, reporting, policy and financial planning and billing purposes to administer the Special Assistance Scheme, including entitlements under o BALIMED 2002 o Tsunami Healthcare Assistance o Bali 2005 o London Assist o Dahab Egypt Bombing Healthcare Costs Assistance o Care Package o Mumbai Disaster Healthcare Assistance to establish and maintain the Medicare Location Specific Practice Number (LSPN) register. The register identifies practice sites and bases for mobile equipment where diagnostic imaging procedures and radiation oncology services are undertaken to maintain General Practice Recognition Eligibility Committee files. These records relate to all dealings of the General Practice Recognition Eligibility Committee. Its role is to consider the eligibility of medical practitioners for Vocational Registration for the purposes of section 3F of the Health Insurance Act 1973 to establish and maintain Medicare Levy Exemption (MLE) records for individuals who are working, and seeking exemption from paying the Medicare Levy PAGE 28 OF 57 Department of Human Services to administer the Radiation Oncology (Hospital Programme Grants) to validate and process data for Hospital Programme Grants (HPG) to administer the Cleft Lip and Palate Scheme to administer incentive payments to eligible providers under the Telehealth incentives scheme to establish and maintain information to operate the National Health Funding Administrator Payments System to establish and maintain colostomy and ileostomy membership files for the purpose of assessing and reimbursing Ostomy Association members for the supply of approved colostomy and ileostomy items to register and assess claims for payments under the Continence Aids Payment Scheme to administer Chronic Disease management plans to administer and assess claims for payments under the External Breast Prosthesis Reimbursement programme to administer the Australian Government rebate on Private Health Insurance in accordance with Private Health Insurance Act 2007 and the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 2012 to create an individual healthcare identifier, Medicare enrolment information is used to disclose Medicare demographic data from the HI Service to the Personally Controlled eHealth Record system operator for registered consumers/authorised representatives and nominated representatives where applicable. Medical Indemnity Scheme to register and assess claims against the Medical Indemnity Scheme, records are established in accordance with the Medical Indemnity Act 2002, ROCS Support Payment 2004 and Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Products Standards) Act 2003 for: o Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) Claims o High Cost Claims o Run-off Cover Scheme – Claims o Run-off Cover Scheme Support Payments (ROCS SP) o Premium Support Scheme o United Medical Protection (UMP) Support Payments o Record Run off Cover Contribution (ROCS) Data Premium Support Scheme (PSS) Subsidy Data. Midwives Professional Indemnity Scheme to register and assess claims against the Midwife Professional Indemnity Scheme, records are established in accordance with the Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Act 2010 for: o Level 1 Commonwealth Contributions (Claims Scheme) o Level 2 Commonwealth Contributions (Claims Scheme) o Run-off Cover (ROC) Commonwealth Contributions (Claims Scheme) o Run-off Cover Support Payments (ROC SP) o Data Collection - to assist the government in administering the ‘Improving Maternity Services Package’. PAGE 29 OF 57 Department of Human Services Rural Health to record details of rural providers potentially eligible to receive payment under the rural programmes: o General Practice Rural Incentives Programme – General Practice Component o General Practice Rural Incentives Programme – Registrar Component o General Practice Rural Incentives Programme – Rural Relocation Incentive Grant o HECS Reimbursement Scheme o Rural Procedural Grants Programme o Rural Locum Education Assistance Programme. Mental Health Nurse Incentive Programme to maintain the Mental Health Nurse Incentive programme and determine eligibility to receive payment under the scheme through collection of information via the: o Mental Health Nurse Incentive Programme (MHNIP) – Access database o Mental Health Nurse Incentive Programme (MHNIP) – Patient information database. Practice Incentives Programme (PIP) using the following processes records the Practice Incentive Programme is maintained and eligibility for payments is assessed: o Practice Incentives Programme (PIP) – Access database o Practice Incentives Programme (PIP) Online register. Practice Nurse Incentive Programme to administer the Practice Nurse Incentive Programme, including the provision of incentive payments to eligible practices. Medicare Compensation Recovery Programme to manage compensation cases where the amount of compensation paid exceeds $5,000 and the recovery of the amount of Medicare benefits paid for treatment of the compensable injury. Additionally, the recovery of Nursing Home benefits, home care costs or Residential Care subsidies on behalf of the Department of Social Services. PAGE 30 OF 57 Department of Human Services Australian Organ Donor Register to record the decision of individuals regarding organ and/or tissue donation or transplantation after death. National Bowel Cancer Screen Register to administer the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register on behalf of the Department of Health Australian Childhood Immunisation Register to record details of immunisations received by children under 7 years of age and administer the Register in accordance with section 46 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 to provide the immunisation status of children for the purpose of assessing eligibility for family assistance payments. Communication networks to establish and maintain various mail out/subscription lists to distribute relevant communications to the public and members of relevant professional bodies. Early Release of Superannuation to determine eligibility for the early release of superannuation under specified compassionate grounds as set out in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994. Australian Health Survey reimbursements to collect information from Australian Health Survey (AHS) respondents in order to assess eligibility and make payment on behalf of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Hearing Services Programme to register claims made by Accredited Hearing Service Providers providing hearing services and aids to eligible persons under the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997. Personal details of Accredited Hearing Service Providers (including payments) and practitioners are also used. Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Programme to administer the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Programme on behalf of the Australian Government. Supporting Leave for Living Organ Donors Scheme to register and assess claims for payments for the Supporting Leave for Living Organ Donors Scheme on behalf of the Department of Health. National Bowel Cancer Screen Register to administer the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register on behalf of the Department of Health. This includes: o determining eligibility to participate o issuing programme correspondence o providing de-identified data to the Department of Health for programme analysis o responding to enquiries o making payments to health professionals and o providing participant follow up. PAGE 31 OF 57 Department of Human Services Disclosures of personal information in a Medicare context (including sensitive information) In the process of delivering Medicare services and performing Medicare functions, we will routinely disclose personal information to these recipients in the circumstances and for the purposes noted below: aggregated data to researchers and research bodies Attorney-General's Department Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Australian Community Pharmacy Authority Australian Government Actuary Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Australian Taxation Office authorised external recipients including private health insurance funds authorised medical personnel in the organ and tissue donation network authorised third parties upon written request Child Protection Agencies Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions contracted mail and print suppliers contracted service providers Department of Health – including MBS and VAP claims data, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme claims data, RPBS claims data, Australian Childhood Immunisation Register immunisation information and Australian Organ Donor Register consent and donation intent data and National Bowel Cancer Screening Register data Department of Health, Western Australia Department of Immigration and Border Protection Department of Veterans’ Affairs Determining Authority Director of Professional Services Review General Practice Recognition Appeal Committee. healthcare organisations healthcare providers medical indemnity insurers medical indemnity organisations Medicare Claims Review Panel (MCRP) members of the relevant committees and tribunals Minister for Health Minister for Human Services PAGE 32 OF 57 Department of Human Services National Health Funding Body National Prescribing Service Office of Hearing Services official committees established under legislation to inquire into the provision of Medicare services other review authorities through the appropriate Information Release Delegate other third parties where it is in the public interest in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the secrecy and confidentiality provisions of other legislation applicable to the department pathology laboratories prescribing health professionals of identified patients Professional Services Review Committees Professional Services Review Committees Secretariat public hospitals registered Child Care Providers registered Private Health Insurers Royal Australian College of General Practitioners specialist medical colleges state law enforcement bodies State Registration Boards (medical, dental and optometrical professionals and the Professional Services Review (PSR)) Western Australian Department of Health. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for the purpose of analysing the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Centrelink purposes Centrelink delivers payments and services for seniors, job seekers, families, carers, parents, people with disability, Indigenous Australians, and people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and provides services at times of major change. We collect information about Centrelink customers and their non-customer partners/siblings to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify through data matching and internal matching with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for our payments and programmes. Collection of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) In the context of delivering Centrelink services and performing Centrelink functions, the department will routinely collect information in a Centrelink context in addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy. PAGE 33 OF 57 Department of Human Services Individual details child support or maintenance details, including particulars of child support entitlement including reasonable action taken to obtain child support and reasons for seeking exemption from collecting child support identity information, including documents, country of birth and electoral roll details institutions or prisons (admissions and discharges) interpreter requirement languages for which an interpreter/translator is accredited licence information measure exit reasons for participants motor vehicle registration nominee details (both individuals and organisations) other complex private circumstances information about partner or other person permitted to enquire accommodation information, including past and current accommodation details including home ownership or rent amounts paid, homelessness indicator and name and address of people with whom accommodation is shared Power of Attorney or Guardianship and Tribunal Orders sex change status sex/gender of prior and current partners South Sea Islander information Tasmanian Transport claimant details third party verification of crisis details trial exit reasons. Family Details blended family particulars child in care, date of birth and age details of multiple births, surrogacy agreements, expected dates of birth for children details of circumstances surrounding the provision of care of child(ren) by individuals other than birth parents details of child(ren) not in care (including adult children) details of child care usage and fees percentage of parental care foster care arrangements details of parenting skill programme referrals details of parents and other relatives PAGE 34 OF 57 Department of Human Services war widow status where relationship status is unclear and requires further assessment, information that is required to establish the financial aspects of the relationship, nature of the household, social aspects of the relationship, presence or absence of a sexual relationship and nature of the commitment prior and current partner's Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) TFN for non-customer partners separation referees participation in School Meals Programme. Health and Welfare Details accommodation concerns or homelessness child protection concerns details of medical conditions, including communicable diseases, type and level of disability, and physical or mental health domestic and family violence, including history of claims for domestic or family violence and details of fear and apprehension experienced by the customer drug or alcohol issues housing arrears, debts, risk of homelessness and vulnerability indicators (for the purpose of administering Income Management, Centrepay and rent deductions scheme) other government or community agency referral rehabilitation details sexual abuse history suicidality or self-harm indicators the impact an individual’s non-vocational barriers have on employment, identified interventions, support requirements and expected outcomes/improvements the information provided in the assessment is used to inform a referral to a Stream Services, DESDMS or DES-ESS Provider and to identify other assistance whether medical conditions are considered permanent, fully diagnosed, treated or stabilised. Education Details customer education history sibling education details child/student education (including primary, secondary and tertiary) details, including full-time/part time, study exemptions, registered home schooling, studying overseas and undertaking special education, academic results details of early childhood education activity referrals and education activity referrals details of unsatisfactory school attendance the school individual children are enrolled at tuition (school) fee amounts payable confirmation of enrolment verification if required, including dates enrolled and level of education PAGE 35 OF 57 Department of Human Services details of previous, current and intended course of study, including education institution, participation status of course (that is, full time or part time) and course name, level and duration. Financial Information personal and family financial information claims for dependent partner for taxation, health or other purposes consent and contact information for the purposes of a financial management programme service assistance referral details of joint interests, for example, tenancy agreements, joint ownership of assets financial and other information about a former partner financial institutions and investment schemes for the purpose of administering Income Management, personal account details for bill payment purposes ( e.g. account and billing details for Third Party organisations such as Telstra or utility providers) gifting information income from employment and other sources including income earned, derived or received from overseas sources Income Management spending patterns including (but not limited to) requests for one off or urgent payments. Tax File Number (where authorised) payment to third parties – including reasons for which payments are made ( e.g. expense categories such as housing debt, bonds, ongoing payment) property and assets. Internal and other agency interactions application review assessment outcomes for Income Management eligibility complaints made by the customer customer contact history Freedom of Information requests interventions and recommendations interview and workshop bookings and attendance Ministerial, Parliamentary or Ombudsman enquiries overpayment details payment qualifications/eligibility prosecution details Restricted Servicing Arrangements reviews and appeals sanctions imposed PAGE 36 OF 57 Department of Human Services suspensions imposed and details. Employment Information ABN details corporate and trading names business address and payroll information Australian Apprentice Commonwealth Registration Number customer employment history Job Seeker compliance history and details Jobs, Education and Training (JET) activity details level of work ability and barriers to employment unemployment registration details of work performed in the 13 months preceding birth of child(ren), details of employer and return to work details for the assessment of paid parental leave payments and determination of responsibility for the administration of payments (employer or the department). Other legal opinions reasonable excuse/special circumstances applied overseas absences. Use of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) In the process of delivering Centrelink services and performing Centrelink functions, we will routinely use personal information for the purposes listed below: to maintain a record of customer verification and information in respect of Random Sample Survey reviews to maintain records of the receipt of unsolicited correspondence from customers in response to them receiving our publications (for example, News for Seniors) to determine eligibility for the early release of superannuation under severe financial hardship grounds as set out in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 to maintain a record of customers who have consented to link their departmental records and update personal information using the 'Tell Us Once' process. Disclosures are then made in accordance with relevant legislative provisions for the purposes of programme administration and related service delivery activity. Data is varied and ranges from high level aggregated statistical data by payment type to customer unit record level to determine eligibility for assurers to provide an Assurance of Support, assess and review eligibility and entitlement for assurees, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent applications from the assurer, link assurer and assuree records to a single case, record details of bank guarantees, advise the Department of Immigration and Border Protection of the outcome of applications for an Assurance of Support and accept, start, reject, cancel or expire assurances to establish and maintain a Register of interpreters and translators to enable our staff to offer interpreting or translating assignments to contractors and to pay invoices for these services PAGE 37 OF 57 Department of Human Services to issue entitlement cards and vouchers and confirm eligibility for various concessions and services, under Commonwealth Legislation, State Legislation and other regulations to facilitate the 'Detection and Prevention of Incorrect Payment Arising from Overseas Income’ by way of international data exchange in relation to international pensions received by Australians. Data exchange has already taken place with Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal Spain, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ireland, Italy and Cyprus. In addition, exchanges of information relating to the death of mutual customers has taken place with the United States of America to assess and determine the appointment of a nominee to receive payment/s and/or to interact with us on behalf of customers who are receiving a payment and/or service who need assistance managing their affairs to keep records of the advice provided by the Health Professional Advisory Unit (HPAU) to referring officers to establish eligibility and support the ongoing administration of Income Management to contribute to programme evaluations to action a security notice issued by the Attorney-General to facilitate internal and external data matching. Tasmanian Transport Programme to administer the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) and the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme (BSPVES) on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, recover overpayment, index subsequent claims for businesses and verify with third parties business details, financials and other data given in claims and reviews. Tasmanian Transport Programme: Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme to determine the eligibility and entitlement, recover overpayment, index subsequent claims for businesses and verify with third parties business details, financials and other data given in claims and reviews. Families to maintain Member of a Couple records for the purpose of reviewing eligibility and entitlement for income support and supplementary payments, to assist with research and the programme management of income support and supplementary payments for programme management of the Helping Young Parents measure for programme management of the Supporting Jobless Families measure for programme management of the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM). These records are created to assist with the programme management of the measure by recording enrolment and attendance details and monitor compliance with the requirements and to determine whether or not a parent is in scope for the measure and assist with decision making on when a reasonable excuse or special circumstances are to be applied, or when to apply a sanction where a parent fails to comply and does not have special circumstances. Records are kept for customers who are or have been 'in scope' for the SEAM, such as customers, who reside in a SEAM location, are in PAGE 38 OF 57 Department of Human Services receipt of a schooling requirement payment and have at least 14 per cent care of a compulsory schooling aged child for programme maintenance of Parenting Payment (Single and Partnered). Records are required to determine eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, to assist with the provision of assistance through labour market programmes provided through other government agencies and verify with third parties personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for programme management of the now ceased Partner Allowance payment. To assess and review eligibility, overpayments, recovery, referrals and future indexing of payments for related individuals. These records relate to women aged 40 or more at 1 July 1995 (born on or before 1 July 1955) and their dependent partners and other relatives to collect information from applicants in order to assess eligibility for payment of Low Income Supplement, Low Income Family Supplement and Single Income Family Supplement to determine the eligibility and entitlement, review eligibility and entitlement, recover overpayment, index subsequent claims for businesses and verify with third parties business details, financials and other data given in claims and reviews for Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate for programme management of the now ceased Baby Bonus payment. To assess and review eligibility, overpayments and recovery of payments. These records relate to claims made for children born or entrusted into care as part of an adoption process before 1 March 2014. Baby Bonus was replaced by Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement for children born on or after 1 March 2014 to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, including Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Assistance, Special Child Care Benefit and Grandparent Child Care Benefit to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for Baby Bonus, Parental Leave Pay, Dad and Partner Pay. From March 2014, Baby Bonus will be replaced by Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for the Double Orphan Pension to determine and review eligibility and entitlement and to determine and recover overpayments for the School Kids Bonus to determine eligibility for financial support for carers that provide care in place of a birth parent. to determine allocation of income management funds - individual and family circumstances are considered to ensure priority needs are being met and income management expenses are allocated accordingly. PAGE 39 OF 57 Department of Human Services Older Australians to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, recover overpayments and advances and index subsequent claims from individuals, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives for Widow Allowance to determine and review eligibility for, and the rate of, Widowed payments (WID, WDA, BVA), determine and recover overpayments and/or verify with third parties personal data provided in claims and reviews to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, recover overpayments and advances and index subsequent claims from individuals for Age Pension, Wife Pension, Widow B Pension, Pension Bonus Scheme and Pension Loans Scheme. Employment Service Assessment and Job Capacity Assessment to perform key roles in the delivery of both the Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) and the Job Capacity Assessment (JCA): as a referrer (we perform the majority of ESAt referral and all JCA referrals) and as the provider (health and allied health professional staff conduct all ESAts and JCAs) ESAts and JCAs involve assessment of an applicant’s work capacity, suitability for employment assistance and, were relevant, medical eligibility for the Disability Support Pension. This may include referral to an appropriate employment services provider and/or the writing of professional reports that recommend a referral for disability employment assistance, or mainstream employment assistance to inform key recommendations within an ESAt or JCA, the assessor may be required to liaise with an applicant’s treating healthcare professional(s) and/or refer an applicant for a Specialist Assessment to a health and allied-health professional internally or externally. Job Seekers and Students for the programme management of Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance (students), Youth Allowance (other), Youth Allowance (Australian Apprentices), Austudy, ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children. Records are established and maintained to assist with the referrals to employment services, educational assistance programmes, labour market programmes and to determine eligibility and entitlement, review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, recover advances, index subsequent claims from individuals, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, verify with third parties personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews, for research, and for the purposes of assessment for programme management of Employment assistance for job seekers. The purpose of these records is to assist with the provision of determining eligibility and entitlement, the review of eligibility and entitlement, for research, and programme management of employment services, educational assistance programmes and labour market programmes. These include contracted programmes such as jobactive,, Youth Connections, Green Corps, Drought Force, Skills for Education and Employment , Work for the Dole, New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, Voluntary Work, Reconnect, Adult Migrant English Programme, , Remote Jobs and Communities Programme , Structured Training and Employment Projects and Disability Employment Services Comprehensive Compliance Assessments are undertaken by social workers and other specialist staff. Assessments are transmitted to jobactive (from 1 July 2015) providers for information and action Activity Test and participation requirements are expected to be appropriately tailored to take account of the job seeker's capacity. Job seekers may sometimes have personal circumstances that directly impact on their ability to comply with their requirements. Circumstances can be such that they warrant the coding of an activity test exemption. There are a number of exemption categories. An exemption will mean that a job seeker is not required to meet activity test or participation PAGE 40 OF 57 Department of Human Services requirements for the period of the exemption which may also result in suspension from employment services. Activity Test exemption codes and literal are provided and displayed to a job seekers provider a Vulnerability Indicator is a flag that is added to a job seeker’s record when they have certain identified vulnerabilities that: o potentially impact the job seeker's capacity to comply, and o put the job seeker at a higher risk of non-compliance current and historical Vulnerability Indicators can be viewed on a job seeker's record by both Human Services and providers. They alert staff that extra assistance may be required to support job seekers in meeting their Activity Test or participation requirements and the need to exercise caution when considering compliance action. People with Disability or Illness to register and assess applicants for their eligibility and payment for the Essential Medical Equipment Payment for medical equipment and/or heating and cooling to assess an applicant’s medical eligibility for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) including recommendations and referrals to employment services providers where appropriate to administer the Disability Support Pension and employment assistance for people with a disability. Records maintained to: o determine eligibility for, and the rate of, Disability Support Pension o determine eligibility for additional payments such as pension supplement, telephone allowance, pharmaceutical allowance and rent assistance o determine suitability for rehabilitation, training or employment assistance o review eligibility and entitlement o determine and recover overpayments o index intentions to claim and/or index subsequent claims from individuals, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives and verify (with third parties) the personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews to determine and review eligibility for, and the rate of, Mobility Allowance, determine and recover overpayments and/or verify with third parties personal data provided in claims and reviews to determine eligibility for and the rate of Sickness Allowance, review eligibility, determine and recover overpayments, determine suitability for rehabilitation and verify with third parties personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews to determine and review a customer's payment and concession eligibility and entitlement, determine overpayments, and verify with third parties financial and other data given in claims and reviews in relation to the customer's and/or their partner's involvement in a special disability trust. The relationship between the trust and the individual can be as a beneficiary, the beneficiary's carer, contributors, the individual's nominee contact and/or trustee(s) of the trust to assess an applicant’s eligibility for the Australian Victims of Terrorism Overseas Payment. To inform key recommendations within the assessment, the assessor may be required to liaise with an applicant’s treating healthcare professional(s) and/or refer an applicant for a Specialist Assessment to a health and allied health professional. PAGE 41 OF 57 Department of Human Services Severe and Extreme Circumstances to determine eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from an individual, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives and verify with third parties personal, financial and other data given in claims (there are no reviews) for Crisis Payments to determine and review eligibility and entitlement, determine and recover overpayments, index subsequent claims from the person, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives, and verify with third parties, personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews for Special benefits to administer the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, the Disaster Recovery Allowance, and related ex-gratia payments when activated by agreement with state or territory governments or Commonwealth departments where their resources are overwhelmed by an emergency, to operate the National Emergency Call Centre Surge Capability to determine eligibility and entitlement for the Australian Victims of Terrorism Payment in accordance with the Social Security (Supporting Victims of Overseas Terrorism) Act 2012. Homelessness to capture intensive servicing activities for record keeping, reporting and planning purposes for the Homeless Outreach Programme and other intensive services programmes. Social Work Intervention/Assistance to capture customer details and social work intervention for record keeping, and reporting requirements and to ensure continuity of support in relation to specific service offers with other government departments for vulnerable or at risk customers. Customer data is received from agencies the department has agreements with. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Social work case notes or reports are received completed at the conclusion of the intervention with the customer to determine and review eligibility and entitlement to payment and services, social workers will seek information and verification from appropriate third parties to assign Homelessness Indicator and appropriate referrals to identified customers at risk to maintain the Social Work Information System (SWIS), to capture social work activities for recording keeping, reporting and planning purposes including social work assessments and reports (Crisis Payment Reports, Income Management Reports, Unreasonable to Live At Home reports, Maintenance Exemption reports, general social work reports), social work case notes, presenting issues, referral source, intervention types and referral types to assist other areas of the business to conduct business with you appropriately. Carers to determine eligibility and entitlement for Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance, caring for a child under 16 years o determine eligibility for additional payments such as pension supplement, telephone allowance, pharmaceutical allowance and rent assistance o determine eligibility for additional supplementary payments such as the annual carer supplement paid on 1 July each to recipients of CP o determine eligibility for additional supplementary payments such as the annual carer supplement paid on 1 July per care receiver to recipients of CA PAGE 42 OF 57 Department of Human Services o determine eligibility for additional supplementary payments such as the annual child disability assistance payment paid on 1 July per care receiver to recipients of CA for a child under 16 years o review eligibility and entitlement o determine and recover overpayments o index intentions to claim and/or index subsequent claims from individuals, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives and verify (with third parties) the personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews to determine eligibility and entitlement for Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance, caring for an adult 16 years or over o determine eligibility for additional payments such as pension supplement, telephone allowance, pharmaceutical allowance and rent assistance o determine eligibility for additional supplementary payments such as the annual carer supplement paid on 1 July each to recipients of CP o determine eligibility for additional supplementary payments such as the annual carer supplement paid on 1 July per care receiver to recipients of CA o review eligibility and entitlement o determine and recover overpayments o index intentions to claim and/or index subsequent claims from individuals, their partner, child(ren) or other relatives and verify (with third parties) the personal, financial and other data given in claims and reviews to determine and review a customer's payment and concession eligibility and entitlement, to determine overpayments, and verify with third parties financial and other data given in claims and reviews in relation to the customer's and/or their partner's involvement in a special disability trust. the relationship between the trust and the individual can be as a beneficiary, the beneficiary's carer, contributors, the individual's nominee contact and/or trustee(s) of the trust. Rural and Remote Australians to determine eligibility and entitlement for Transitional Farm Family Payment Programme. Disclosures of personal information in a Centrelink context (including sensitive information) In the process of delivering Centrelink services and performing Centrelink functions, we will disclose personal information to these recipients, in the circumstances and for the purposes noted below: Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) agents contracted to the department Attorney-General’s Department Australian Childhood Immunisation Register Australian Federal Police and State Police for investigation and prosecution Australian Government Solicitor's Office Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Australian National Audit Office PAGE 43 OF 57 Department of Human Services Australian Taxation Office Catholic Education Office Commonwealth Bank of Australia (for the administration of loans made before the Student Financial Supplement Scheme which closed on 31 December 2003) Commonwealth Ombudsman contracted organisations that provide medical and work capacity assessments for services previously provided by CRS Australia Department of Agriculture Department of Education Department of Employment Department of Health Department of Immigration and Border Protection Department of Industry Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (Tasmania) Department of Planning and Infrastructure Licensing Service (Western Australia) Department of Social Services Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (South Australia) Department of Veterans' Affairs Director of Public Prosecutions education institutions Fair Work Ombudsman Family Law Court financial institutions for verification purposes Health Services Australia Medical Officers humanitarian, welfare and charitable organisations mental health crisis teams nominees or third parties with permission to enquire Northern Territory Department of Education Northern Territory Transport Group organisations providing employment services for people with disabilities organisations providing residential care other organisations providing concessions (with client consent) PAGE 44 OF 57 Department of Human Services other third parties where it is in the public interest in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the secrecy and confidentiality provisions of other applicable legislation Parliament Queensland Transport Registration ACT Roads and Traffic Authority NSW Rural Financial Counsellors South Australian Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure state and territory authorities as approved by the Department of Social Services in the referral and administration of Income Management (such as child protection authorities and housing authorities or authorities or third party organisations contracted under a housing management agreement) state and territory of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages third parties for verification purposes Tiwi Education Board various state and municipal authorities (with client consent) Victorian Roads. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Child Support purposes Child Support helps separated parents take joint responsibility for the financial support of their children by calculating how much child support should be paid and facilitating the collection and transfer of child support payments. We collect information about Child Support customers for the purpose of assessing eligibility for child support, calculating how much child support is payable and collecting child support in accordance with the provisions in the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. Collection of personal information in a Child Support context (including sensitive information) In the process of delivering Child Support services and performing Child Support functions, we will routinely collect the following information in addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy. Individual information identity information, including birth certificates of children or other evidence of parentage information including email address, telephone number, address, bank account details, evidence of parentage, level of child support debt language(s) spoken special needs of customers information about a customer's racial or ethnic background expressions of beliefs or opinions about child support, relationships, parenting and associated issues information about a customer's movements, employment, business relationships, lifestyle and assets photographic or video footage. PAGE 45 OF 57 Department of Human Services Family information details of children in care including name, date of birth and care levels child support/maintenance orders other Family Court orders child support agreement between separated parents information about overseas child support and maintenance liabilities. Health and welfare information relationship information, including information on family violence security incidents detailing threats of violence or self-harm restricted servicing arrangements in the event of concerns about customer aggression health or caring responsibilities of the parent. Financial information income information employment information, business relationship information and other comprehensive financial information relevant department or benefit information details of enforcement activity undertaken in relation to the collection of child support Tax File Numbers (where authorised) information about third parties who have a financial association with a customer. Other enquiries from Members of Parliament, Ombudsman and other representations enquiries from overseas authorities complaint investigations compensation and waiver applications and outcomes information compulsorily obtained from third parties using various notice powers under the two Child Support Acts recording of phone conversations with the department taped interviews. Use of personal information in a Child Support Context (including sensitive information) In the process of delivering Child Support services and performing Child Support functions, we will routinely use personal information for the purposes listed below: for the purpose of establishing and maintaining customer records to register, calculate (assess) and collect child support obligations in accordance with the provisions of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and to administer the Child Support Scheme and related government programmes to provide customers and/or potential customers with initial advice or assistance to help the parents make their own arrangements, up to and including the calculation and collection of child support to deliver a range of products, services and programmes for separated parents PAGE 46 OF 57 Department of Human Services to investigate alleged fraudulent activity, including internal fraud, and prosecute for offences under the two Child Support Acts and for other related offences to give effect to Australia’s international maintenance obligations using call recording for quality assurance and training purposes, including retrieving calls for complaint resolution, review of decisions and for Freedom of Information requests to undertake the Change of Assessment process, whereby customers may formally apply to change the amount of child support, if special circumstances exist. In doing so and to establish special circumstances, customers may submit comprehensive financial, relationship, medical or other information, some of which may be defined as 'sensitive information' under the Privacy Act 1988. This information is also obtained in relation to review of decisions. This information may then be shared with the other party to the change of assessment application through the open exchange of information process as required by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. Information may also be shared with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal if the Change of Assessment decision is appealed to collect, where relevant, information from or about third parties (for example, if a parent claims under a change of assessment application that a duty to maintain their partner or another person affects their capacity to pay child support or for the purposes of meeting Australia’s obligation under an international maintenance arrangement). This third party information may then be shared with the other party to the change of assessment application through the open exchange of information process as required by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. This open exchange of information also applies to reviews of change of assessment decisions, for example to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. to obtain external legal advice for data matching with the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Veterans' Affairs, in the first instance to obtain income information to properly calculate child support assessments and then to collect payments (in the event of non-payment). We are authorised to deduct child support from payments, certain veterans' entitlements and income tax refunds to respond to reviews of decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to exchange information with the Department of Finance for the determination of waiver applications and outcomes. Disclosures of personal information in a Child Support Context (including sensitive information) Child Support can disclose protected information if that disclosure is required or authorised by law. In the process of delivering Child Support services and performing Child Support functions, we will routinely disclose personal information to the following recipients, in the circumstances and for the purpose noted below: an authorised representative of the customer to enable the person’s role as a customer representative, including information about the other parent in the child support case that would otherwise be disclosed to the customer Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to assist with an AAT hearing of an appeal from a Child Support customer Attorney-General's Department for the purposes of enforcing overseas maintenance liabilities Australian National Audit Office for the purpose of investigation or audit of Child Support’s processes by the Australian National Audit Office Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Child Support exchanges personal information such as names and tax file numbers with the ATO. This exchange enables Child Support to make and update child support PAGE 47 OF 57 Department of Human Services assessments and to identify when a person has a tax refund amount due, which can be applied to a child support debt Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to assist with AHRC investigation of allegations of breach of customers’ human rights Commonwealth and Defence Force Ombudsman, the Ombudsman is authorised by Parliament to investigate complaints from Child Support customers and Child Support can provide protected information for the purposes of that investigation contracted service providers who deliver services to separated parents, or who carry out research to help improve service delivery Department of Finance to assist with decisions on debt waiver applications Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Child Support may provide information relating to a child support matter to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the purposes of one of Australia’s international maintenance obligations when one parent resides overseas, and the relevant overseas authority has requested that correspondence be forwarded via the diplomatic channel Department of Immigration and Border Protection to obtain information on a customer’s international movement records, or where a Departure Prohibition Order has been made in relation to a Child Support payer Department of Social Services to enable the relevant Minister for Social Services to respond to customer enquiries, or for the Department of Social Services to assess the operation of the child support scheme Department of Veterans’ Affairs to obtain income information to make and update child support assessments, and to enforce payment of child support external legal advisors to assist with proceedings in a court of law law enforcement agencies when a Departure Prohibition Order has been made in relation to a person or to prevent a credible threat to the life, health and welfare of a person The Minister for Human Services and Members of Parliament to enable the Minister and the Member of Parliament to respond to issues raised by child support customers Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to assist with investigation of complaints from customers and to investigate and audit Child Support processes overseas authorities, Child Support can provide protected information to an overseas authority if a request from an overseas authority is made in relation to an international maintenance arrangement; and it is necessary or convenient for the purposes of the international maintenance arrangement to give the information to the overseas authority. persons with ‘sufficient interest’ where it is required o to correct a mistake of fact about the administration of the Child Support legislation, if the integrity of that administration would be at risk if the mistake were not corrected o to assist with the location of a missing person o to assist with the location of a relative or beneficiary of a deceased person, or for the administration of the estate of a deceased person. third parties, including but not limited to a customer’s employer, financial institution, or executor of a child support customer’s estate o PAGE 48 OF 57 to make or update child support assessments Department of Human Services o to enforce payment of child support o to administer the child support scheme to the courts, the courts have the authority to require the production of documents or the answering of questions the other party to the child support case o Child Support discloses some personal information about one parent to the other parent in child support assessment notices. This information can include the parent's name and income, the number and age ranges of any dependent children the parent has, and the number and age ranges of any other children the parent is assessed to pay child support for o Child Support is also authorised to inform a Child Support payee of action taken to recover their child support debt o when a customer applies for a change of assessment, Child Support is required to send a copy of the application and any accompanying documents (including detailed financial information) to the other party. Child Support will then seek a response from the other party and send a copy of the response to the applicant, along with any accompanying documents o when a customer objects to a decision, Child Support is required to send the objection and accompanying documents to the other party. Child Support will seek a response from the other party and in order to make a decision in a way that is procedurally fair, Child Support will necessarily discuss a party's personal information with the other party. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for Australian Hearing related purposes Australian Hearing helps people manage their hearing impairment so they have a better quality of life. Australian Hearing provides a full range of hearing services for children and young people up to the age of 26, eligible adults and aged pensioners, and most war veterans. Collection of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) In addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy, we collect the following information: names and status of partners or relatives disabilities racial or ethnic origin religious affiliations relationship details social security status financial information relating to payment for services. Use of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) to provide hearing services to eligible individuals to establish client case records and surveys to provide a case history of an individual's hearing assessment and hearing rehabilitation programme, expectations and service outcomes. PAGE 49 OF 57 Department of Human Services Disclosure of personal information in an Australian Hearing context (including sensitive information) other health agencies (with client consent) courts of law (with statutory confidentiality requirement) Department of Veterans’ Affairs (for audit purposes) Office of Hearing Services (administration of Commonwealth Hearing Services Programme). The collection, use and disclosure of personal information for CRS Australia-related purposes CRS Australia ceased providing services on Friday 27 February 2015. All Disability Employment Services Disability Management Services (DES-DMS) participants who were registered with CRS Australia have started services with a new DES-DMS Provider, allocated by the Department of Social Services. More information, including a list of all providers, can be found on the Department of Social Services website. The primary role CRS Australia performed when providing disability management services was to help people with a disability, injury or health condition to choose, obtain and keep employment. CRS Australia worked in partnership with employers to find staff and to provide healthy and safe workplaces for employees through quality injury prevention and injury management services. The management of CRS Australia customer personal information is protected by section 28 of the Disability Services Act 1986 and the Privacy Act 1988. Collection of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) In addition to the common uses explained earlier in this policy, the following information was collected in a CRS Australia context: country of birth work and/or referral history education medical reports records of interview disability specifics information concerning sexual preference criminal convictions criminal intelligence religious affiliations political affiliations Tax File Numbers (where authorised). Use of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) to document Disability Employment Services, as specified in the Disability Employment Services Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 2012-2015, provided under contract to the Department of PAGE 50 OF 57 Department of Human Services Social Services and other commercial active ties. Records are used to monitor progress towards goals and to record goals achieved for responding to ministerial correspondence for preparing ministerial submissions and briefs for responding to FOI requests and subpoenas for undertaking customer surveys for research and analysis to detail the information relating to decisions and appeals as well as record the information released to the applicant under the relevant legislation. The personal information in these records relates to complainants, witnesses and respondents to manage Disability Management and Return to work programmes and workplace rehabilitation services including: o initial rehabilitation assessments o functional education and/or capacity evaluation o physical conditioning assessment/programme o vocational assessment and/or counselling o workplace assessment and/or job redesign o labour market analysis o work training placement o job search and placement o young people and school leavers o return to work plan To manage Employment Services including: o Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) o work training placement o recruitment To manage Support Services for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants To manage Injury prevention services including: o ergonomic assessment o risk assessment (OHS) o workplace assessment o early intervention o pre-employment functional screening assessments o home-based ergonomic assessments o manual task training o office ergonomics training PAGE 51 OF 57 Department of Human Services o workstation ergonomics for employees and for managers o Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) o health and wellbeing o mental health in the workplace. Disclosure of personal information in a CRS Australia context (including sensitive information) contracted job seeker service providers allied health professionals Department of Education Department of Employment any third party nominated by the client including Ministers external legal advisors for the purpose of obtaining legal advice Department of Social Services. PAGE 52 OF 57 Department of Human Services Part C – More Information How to access your personal information You can obtain information regarding your personal information by visiting the department’s website and searching ‘Access to information’ or by submitting a request in writing. How to make a complaint about the handling of your personal information If you believe we have not collected or handled your personal information in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988, we recommend you try to resolve the issue with the person you have been dealing with. If you are still not satisfied, you can ask to speak to their manager. If you would like to give feedback (complaint, compliment or suggestion) about our service, you can: Call us Our feedback and complaints officers will aim to resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. If your complaint, compliment or suggestion is about Centrelink, Child Support or Medicare: call our feedback and complaints line on 1800 132 468 From overseas, phone us on one of our international phone numbers For those who need help when contacting us, we provide extra assistance Health Professionals can phone us on one of the numbers listed on the Health Professionals page. Write to us If you prefer to write to us, it can take us longer to respond. If your complaint or feedback is not urgent: For Centrelink and Medicare write to us (no postage stamp required) at: DHS Customer Relations Reply Paid 7788 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 send us a secure online message. Please include a contact phone number so we can acknowledge and respond to your feedback For Child Support write to us at: GPO Box 9815 Melbourne, VIC 3001 send us an email using a Child Support online account[5] or Child Support Business Online Services[6] send a fax to 1300 309 949 You can call us on 131 272 as part of the first steps to make a complaint about Child Support. If you think a decision about your case is not right you can object to a Child Support decision. We are committed to the quick and fair resolution of complaints. Your complaint will be investigated and you will be advised of the outcome. We will always respond to your complaint, suggestion or praise. PAGE 53 OF 57 Department of Human Services If you have a complaint, we will respond as quickly as possible. We will let you know if we can resolve the matter the same day, or whether we need more time to investigate and resolve your complaint. Sometimes this may mean we have to speak to someone in a service centre who is handling your matter. In all cases, we will inform you of the progress of your complaint. We will use the information collected in the lodgement of complaints, compliments or suggestions to investigate and resolve individual issues and to provide feedback to staff or areas within the department. The information collected will be stored and used to assist us to improve the delivery of our services. How to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner If you are unsatisfied with our response, you can write to the Privacy Commissioner, who is part of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Privacy Commissioner is independent of the department and can investigate complaints about the handling of personal information, order compensation to be paid where warranted and recommend that departments to change the way they handle personal information. You can contact the Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by: Telephone: 1300 363 992 Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au Facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666 Post: o Sydney Office: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 o Canberra Office: GPO Box 2999 Canberra ACT 2601 You may make a complaint directly to the Privacy Commissioner rather than to us, however it is generally necessary to have provided us with an opportunity to address your complaint in the first instance. Tax File Number Rules The Tax File Number Guidelines have been replaced by the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015 (TFN Rule). The rule is a legislative instrument made under section 17 of the Privacy Act 1988 and regulates the collection, storage, use, disclosure, security and disposal of individuals' TFN information. A breach of the TFN Guidelines is an interference with privacy under the Privacy Act. Individuals who believe their TFN information has been mishandled may make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner. PAGE 54 OF 57 Department of Human Services Attachment A: Reciprocating Jurisdictions under the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 and the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance Algeria Argentina Austria Barbados Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Brunei Darussalam Burkina Faso Canada, the following Provinces and Territories: o Alberta o British Columbia o Manitoba o New Brunswick o Newfoundland and Labrador o Northwest Territories o Nova Scotia o Nunavut o Ontario o Prince Edward Island o Saskatchewan o Yukon o Cape Verde Central African Republic Chile Colombia Cook Islands Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic PAGE 55 OF 57 Department of Human Services Denmark Ecuador Estonia Fiji Finland the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia France Germany Greece Guatemala Haiti Holy See, The Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Liberia Lithuania Luxembourg Malawi Malaysia Malta Mexico Moldova Monaco Montenegro Morocco Nauru Netherlands PAGE 56 OF 57 Department of Human Services New Zealand Niger Niue Norway Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Samoa Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Sweden Switzerland Tanzania (excluding Zanzibar) Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom (including Alderney, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and Sark) United States of America Uruguay Zambia Zimbabwe. PAGE 57 OF 57 Department of Human Services
