I-n-f-o-r-m-a-t-i-o-n Sharing
and Client Privacy
Statement
For children and young
people under the
guardianship of the Minister
Minister for Families and Communities
Part of Rapid Response and Keeping Them Safe Child Protection Reform Program
Acknowledgement
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in
part for work, study or training purposes, subject to the
inclusion of and acknowledgement of the source.
Copies can be obtained from
www.familiesandcommunities.sa.gov.au/rapidresponse
Enquiries or comments should be directed to:
The Department for Families and Communities
Children, Youth and Family Services
Guardianship and Alternative Care
GPO Box 292 Rundle Mall
Adelaide SA 5001.
2005
Information Sharing
and Client Privacy
Statement
I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
> Foreword
Children and young people under the
guardianship of the Minister1 are some of the
most vulnerable and disadvantaged members
of our society. These children enter state care
for reasons of abuse or neglect where their
birth families have been unable to provide for
their appropriate care and protection.
The Government of South Australia is
committed to addressing the needs of children
and young people under guardianship. The
government’s reform agenda, Keeping Them
Safe, specifically refers to:
>
the government’s intent of developing
collaborative partnerships with children
and young people, parents and carers,
communities, non-government agencies,
local government, the Commonwealth,
the private sector, across sectors and
government portfolios
>
removing barriers that prevent appropriate
exchange of information about children,
young people and families who are
involved in the child protection system.
Information sharing will occur on a broad level
enabling an analysis of trends across service
systems. Information sharing will also occur
on an individual child level thereby enabling
responses tailored to their individual needs.
Hon Jay Weatherill
Minister for Families and Communities
2005
The Government of South Australia is
committed to ensuring that relevant
information about children and young
people under guardianship is shared across
government and non-government agencies
and with other persons (for example foster
and relative carers) so that service needs
are identified and appropriate collaborative
responses to these needs are developed and
implemented. Collaborative partnerships or
‘care teams’ will have access to information
necessary for them to undertake their
respective roles in caring for and meeting the
needs of children and young people under
guardianship.
1
In this paper, the term ‘Guardianship’ refers to all children and young people under the Minister’s guardianship or in
the Minister’s custody. See definitions in Appendix.
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
> Information
Sharing and Client Privacy Statement
Introduction
8. Foster Carers’ Charter
The Information Sharing and Client Privacy
Statement articulates the Government
of South Australia’s position on sharing
information regarding children and young
people under the guardianship of the Minister
for Families and Communities to enable the
improvement of continuity and quality of care
and service for these children. It also provides
direction for sharing sensitive personal
information in such a way that the privacy of
the child or young person is protected.
9. Memorandum of Understanding: Child
Protection Framework for the Provision
of Services between the Department of
Health and Department for Families and
Communities.
The Information Sharing and Client Privacy
Statement provides the broad framework
for information sharing and client privacy.
Specific procedural and protocol documents
will be developed to provide operational
guidance for staff and individuals in the
wide range of contexts in which information
sharing occurs.
The Information Sharing and Client Privacy
Statement is framed within the broader
legislative and administrative information
sharing and privacy context detailed in the
following documents:
1. Children’s Protection Act 1993
2. Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth)
3. Cabinet Information Privacy Principles
Instruction
4. South Australian Health Commission Act 1976
5. Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative
Care Act 1995
6. Code of Fair Information Practice (refers
to both Department for Families and
Communities and Department of Health
Codes of Fair Information Practice)
1. Authority to disclose information
about a child under guardianship
The Information Sharing and Client
Privacy Statement specifically applies to
children or young people placed under the
guardianship or custody of the Minister
by the Youth Court under section 38
of the Children’s Protection Act 1993.
The Children’s Protection Act 1993 section
51 explicitly places responsibility with the
Minister for Families and Communities to
make provision for the care of a child who
is under the guardianship of the Minister
or of whom the Minister has custody. The
Minister and Children, Youth and Family
Services (CYFS) staff (as delegates of the
Minister) therefore have the responsibility of
managing information relating to children
under guardianship, including the collection,
use, disclosure, quality, storage and transfer
of information across government, to nongovernment agencies and other persons.
The Minister or his delegate2 will make the
arrangements referred to in section 51 to
ensure appropriate dissemination of personal
information concerning children and young
people under guardianship and will make
arrangements for the careful management of
sensitive personal information about children
under guardianship.
7. Commitments in Care Charter
2
Section 57 of the Children’s Protection Act 1993 gives the Minister or Chief Executive Officer the power to delegate any of
his or her powers under the Act. The term ‘delegate’ in this document generally refers to the persons exercising powers under
section 51 of the Act. These powers have been delegated to supervisors (PSO3 level or above) except for: temporary shortterm interstate transfers delegated to the CYFS Executive Director; any matters pertaining to a risk to the life of the child;
medical procedures of a significant or final nature; and non-resuscitation procedures—which all remain with the Minister.
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
The responsibility to carefully manage
sensitive personal information is framed
within the principles of the United Nation’s
Convention on the Rights of the Child,
particularly Article 16 which states that,
‘no child shall be subjected to arbitrary or
unlawful interference with his or her privacy...’
To facilitate this process:
>
>
the decision to disclose information will
be made by a senior officer (PSO3 or
above) on a case-by-case basis when the
information involved is of a sensitive
nature
pro forma letters will be provided from
CYFS to the agency or other persons
to whom the information is disclosed
regarding the confidentiality of the
child’s personal information and
the responsibility to maintain this
confidentiality.
2. Views of the child
The Children’s Protection Act 1993, section 4
(3) requires that the views of the child ‘as to
his or her ongoing care and protection be...
sought and given serious consideration’.
The Commitments in Care Charter
details CYFS’ undertaking to respect the
confidentiality of children and:
…whenever it is necessary for personal
information to be disclosed the child/young
person in care will be consulted beforehand
and offered a rationale for the sharing of
information. An attempt will be made to
negotiate about the nature of information to be
shared. Permission from the child/young person
will be gained wherever possible (page 15).
The views of the child (if s/he is able to form
and express them) will generally be sought
when disclosure of their personal information
is contemplated. The child will be advised
as appropriate of the procedures in place
to protect his or her privacy. If the child is
against disclosure, re-consideration will be
given to whether it is still in his or her best
interests to release the information.
3. Information to be disclosed to the
Minister or his delegate by other
government agencies
Information about children under the
guardianship of the Minister should
automatically flow to the Minister or his
delegate, due to his status as Guardian, if
that information would normally be disclosed
to a parent in the same circumstances. The
Minister or his delegate may also request
for that information to be provided to other
agencies or persons. Disclosure of such
information does not breach the Government
of South Australia Cabinet Information
Privacy Principles Instruction (IPPs) or
other legislative provisions requiring that
certain information be kept confidential (for
example, section 64 South Australian Health
Commission Act) because it is authorised
under the provisions of the Children’s Protection
Act 1993 section 513.
The only qualification to the automatic flow
of information to the Minister relates to
information regarding the child’s medical
affairs when the child is aged 16 or over. The
Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care
Act 1995 allows persons of or over the age of
16 years to decide freely for themselves on an
informed basis whether or not to undergo
medical treatment (section 6). The decision to
disclose to the Minister or his delegate
information about medical treatment
3
Section 51 outlines the extensive powers of the Minister in relation to the care and welfare of children under his
guardianship or in his custody. Those powers include making arrangements for the care, education, medical or dental,
‘or such other professional’ treatment of the child.
Section 43 provides: ‘If the Court places a child under the guardianship of the Minister... under this Division, the
Minister... is... the lawful guardian... of the child to the exclusion of the rights of any other person’.
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
administered or proposed to be administered
to a guardianship child between the ages of
16 and 18 should be based on the
consideration of whether a parent would be
informed in the same circumstances.
Consideration should also be given to the
circumstances of the child and must be
assessed on a case-by-case basis.
4. Information to be disclosed to the
Minister or his delegate by persons
or entities outside government
Information about children under the
guardianship of the Minister should
automatically flow to the Minister or his
delegate, due to his status as Guardian, if
that information would normally be disclosed
to a parent in the same circumstances. The
Minister or his delegate may also request
for that information to be provided to
other agencies or persons. Disclosure of
such information does not, in the main,
contravene the Commonwealth Privacy Act
(with the qualification attaching to medical
information concerning a child who has
reached the age of 16).
If there is or is to be a contractual relationship
between the state and the entity, then a
requirement of disclosure of information may
form part of the arrangement. This could
apply, for instance, to non-government service
providers who may provide services to, or in
connection with, children within the purview
of the Children’s Protection Act 1993.
If there is no such relationship between the
entity and the government, the Minister may
write to the entity, explaining that the child
is under his guardianship and therefore he
requests that information about the child
be made available to him to enable him to
make fully informed decisions relating to the
child’s care, protection and welfare. This will
only be done when it is in the best interests of
the child to reveal that s/he is a child under
the Minister’s guardianship. The highly
confidential nature of that fact and of other
sensitive information relating the child will be
emphasised.
5. Information disclosed to other
government agencies by the
Minister or his delegate
The Children’s Protection Act 1993 (section 51)
outlines the extensive powers of the Minister
in relation to the care and welfare of children
under his guardianship. Those powers include
making arrangements for the care, education,
medical or dental, ‘or such other professional’
treatment of the child.
Where other government agencies provide
these services for a child under guardianship,
it will be necessary for the Minister or his
delegate to share that information about the
child to enable the agency to provide the
particular service for the child.
The disclosure of information should always be:
>
in the best interests of the child, and
>
necessary for some purpose, such as
making arrangements for the child’s
education or a medical or professional
examination under section 51 of the
Children’s Protection Act 1993.
Sharing such information about children
under guardianship so that the Government
of South Australia IPPs or Code of Fair
Information Practice are not breached4 is
possible when:
>
the child has expressly or impliedly
consented
>
disclosure is required or authorised by
or under law. The Children’s Protection
Act 1993 section 58 allows the disclosure
of personal information by a person
engaged in the administration of the
The main exemptions relevant to children under guardianship are listed, however, other exemptions also apply.
See Principle 10 of the IPPs (a-d); Principle 2.1 of the Code ((a)-(h)).
4
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
Act ‘if authorised or required to do so
by his or her employer5’. Public servants
in CYFS who are managing the care of
children under the guardianship of the
Minister are employees of the Crown
employed in the Department for Families
and Communities. They are therefore
authorised to share information as
required by their employer.
In all instances where a decision is being
made whether to disclose information relating
to a child under guardianship, the guiding
principle will be whether the disclosure is:
>
in the best interests of the child; and
>
reasonably necessary to enable proper
arrangements for the child’s day-to-day
care, including their education, medical
treatment and/or the provision of other
services for the child (Children’s Protection
Act 1993 section 51).
To facilitate this disclosure:
>
>
a formal authorisation for the release of
a child’s information will be provided
by the Department for Families and
Communities Chief Executive to all
CYFS staff who are managing the care of
children under the guardianship or in the
custody of the Minister
the decision to disclose information of
a sensitive nature about a child will be
made by a senior officer (PSO3 or above)
on a case-by-case basis.
To facilitate appropriate disclosure of
information to other persons:
>
a formal authorisation for the release of
a child’s information will be provided
by the Department for Families and
Communities Chief Executive to all
CYFS staff who are managing the care of
children under the guardianship or in the
custody of the Minister
>
the decision to disclose will be made by
a senior officer (PSO3 or above) on a
case-by-case basis when the information
involved is of a sensitive nature
>
foster and relative carers will be informed
of their obligations to protect privacy and
confidentiality as is detailed in their Foster
Carer’s Agreement
>
a confidentiality requirement will be
incorporated into approvals of foster
carers under the Family and Community
Services Act and made a condition of
approval.
The sensitive nature of the information will
be emphasised at the time of disclosure.
6. Information disclosed to other
persons (for example, persons with
day-to-day care of the child) by the
Minister or his delegate
Where other persons (for example, persons
with day-to-day care of the child: foster carers,
relative carer, or private service providers)
provide services or care for a child under
guardianship, it will be necessary for the
Minister or his delegate to share information
so that the person is able to provide the
particular service or care for the child.
Other persons will be informed of the
requirement to protect the privacy of the child
and to maintain confidentiality prior to their
personal information being disclosed.
5
CFYS staff will be protective of any
information disclosed to other persons, for
example a person with the day-to-day care of
the child. In particular, confidentiality should
be emphasised whenever particularly sensitive
information is disclosed. The importance of
maintaining confidentiality and the penalties
for breach of this condition will form part
of the process of review of foster carers. In
addition, the confidentiality of information
The term ‘employer’ in section 58 should be taken to be the Chief Executive of the department.
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
relating to the child will be emphasised
whenever a child is placed with a carer.
7. Information disclosed by other
persons or entities (for example,
non-government agencies) outside
government to other persons or
entities outside government
Caregivers, persons or entities outside
government are able to disclose personal
information about a child under
guardianship to another person or entity
outside government only when the disclosure:
>
is in the best interests of the child; and
>
is reasonably necessary to enable the other
person or entity to provide a service to the
child; and
>
is authorised by the child/young person;
>
is authorised by the Minister or his
delegate. Other persons or entities should
not disclose information to third parties
without the authority of CYFS other than
that information required for the day-today care of the child.
The nature of the other person, entity and
the specific circumstances of the child are
highly relevant to the decision of the Minister
or his delegate regarding the extent of the
authorisation to the other person or entity to
disclose information.
is disclosed. Confidentiality should also
be emphasised whenever particularly
sensitive information is disclosed.
8. Information disclosed by
government agencies to other
government agencies
Government agencies other than the
Department for Families and Communities
which provide services for children under
guardianship (for example, education,
health, etc) are able to share information
with other agencies so that the other
agency is able to provide a service
for a child under guardianship.
Disclosures by government agencies of
information received from the Minister or his
delegate relating to, or information collected
about, children under guardianship remains
protected by various statutory provisions
(for example, Public Sector Management
Act section 57, regulation 15, SA Health
Commission Act section 64), as well as the
State Government IPPs. The information
cannot be passed on except as permitted by
those provisions. In each case, disclosures
can be authorised by the ‘employer’6 of other
government agencies.
To facilitate this disclosure:
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a formal authorisation by a government
agency (other than the Department for
Families and Communities) for the release
of information about children under
guardianship to another government
agency will be developed by that agency’s
Chief Executive for all staff involved
in providing services to children under
guardianship
>
the decision to disclose information of
a sensitive nature about a child will be
made by a senior officer of the agency.
When a person or entity outside government
has a contractual relationship with the
government, then they will be bound by the
provisions of the Code of Fair Information
Practice and in the case of foster carers, the
Foster Carer’s Contract/Agreement.
The Minister or his delegate has the duty
to maintain control over the information
disclosed. Other persons and entities
should be made aware of the need for
confidentiality before any information
relating to a child under guardianship
The sensitive nature of the information will
be emphasised at the time of disclosure.
6
This will be the Chief Executive of the other government agency, for example Chief Executive, Department of Education
and Children’s Services, or the equivalent.
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I N F O R M AT I O N S H A R I N G A N D C L I E N T P R I VA C Y S TAT E M E N T
> Appendix
1. Definitions
The definitions in this document are based on
Code of Fair Information Practice7.
Personal information is defined as:
Information or an opinion (including
information or an opinion forming part of a
database) whether true or not, and whether
recorded in material form or not, about
an individual whose identity is apparent,
or can reasonably be ascertained, from
the information or opinion (Department
of Human Services, 2003, page 3).
Guardianship
In this paper, the term ‘guardianship’ refers
to all children and young people under the
guardianship or custody of the Minister under
the provisions of the Children’s Protection Act
1993 section 38.
2. Children’s Protection Act 1993
The Children’s Protection Act 1993 provides the
legislative framework for children and young
people under the guardianship or custody
of the Minister. Of particular relevance to
the Information Sharing and Client Privacy
Statement are sections 8 (a) (h), 51 and 58 of
the Act.
General functions of the Minister
Section 8
The Minister must seek to further the
objects of this Act and, to that end, should
endeavour–
(a) to promote a partnership approach
between the Government, local
government, non-government agencies
and families in taking responsibility for
and dealing with the problem of child
abuse and neglect;
(h) to provide, or assist in the provision of,
services to assist persons who, as children,
have been under the guardianship or in
the custody of the Minister, in making a
successful transition to adulthood;
Powers of Minister in relation to children
under the Minister’s care and protection
Section 51
(1) Subject to this Act, the Minister may from
time to time make provision for the care of
a child who is under the guardianship of
the Minister or of whom the Minister has
custody pursuant to this Act, in any of the
following ways:
(a) by placing the child, or permitting
the child to remain, in the care of a
guardian of the child or some other
member of the child’s family;
(b) by placing the child in the care of an
approved foster parent or any other
suitable person;
(c) by placing the child in a home (not
being a training centre) established
or licensed under the Family and
Community Services Act 1972 or in any
other suitable place, and by giving
such directions as to the care of the
child in that home or place as the
Minister thinks fit;
(d) by making arrangements for the
education of the child;
(e) by making arrangements (including
admission to hospital) for the medical
or dental examination or treatment of
the child or for such other professional
examination or treatment as may be
necessary or desirable;
Department of Human Services, 2003, Code of Fair Information Practice for the Department of Human Services (South
Australia), 3rd ed, Adelaide.
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(c) a person engaged in the
administration of this Act from
divulging information if authorised
or required to do so by his or her
employer.
(f) by making such other provision for the
care of the child as the circumstances
of the case may require.
Section 51.
(2) In making provision for the care of a child
pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister
must, where appropriate, have regard to
the desirability of securing settled and
permanent living arrangements for the
child.
Duty to maintain confidentiality
Section 58.
(1) A person engaged in the administration
of this Act who, in the course of that
administration, obtains personal
information relating to a child, a child’s
guardians or other family members or any
person alleged to have abused, neglected
or threatened a child, must not divulge
that information.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(2) A person who attends a family conference
(not being the child, a guardian of the
child or any other member of the child’s
family) must not divulge any personal
information obtained at the conference
relating to any of those persons.
3. Code of Fair Information Practice
The Department of Health and the
Department of Families and Communities’
Codes of Fair Information Practice outline
what the departments and their service
providers should do, and what clients can
expect, in protecting personal information.
The codes provide a framework to ensure
personal information privacy issues are
handled in an appropriate manner across
the department, its funded service providers
and persons with whom it has a contractual
relationship.
4. Commitments in Care Charter
The Commitments in Care Charter8 details
CYFS commitments to children and young
people in the alternative care system in South
Australia. The charter states that:
>
information about a child/young person
in alternative care will not be shared or
available to any person without a very
good reason (page 8)
>
confidentiality will be respected and upheld
in relationships between children/young
people and the department (page 15).
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(3) This section does not prevent–
(a) a person from divulging information
if authorised or required to do so by
law; or
(b) a person from divulging statistical
or other data that could not
reasonably be expected to lead to the
identification of any person to whom it
relates; or
8
Department for Family and Community Services, 1997, Commitments in care: a charter for children and young people in
care, Adelaide.
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5. Government of South Australia
– Information Privacy Principles
The Information Privacy Principles regulate
the way South Australian Public Sector
agencies collect, use, store and disclose
personal information. They are contained
in Cabinet Instruction 1/89 and apply to all
agencies other than those declared exempt by
Cabinet or the Privacy Committee.
Collection of Personal Information
(1) Personal information should not be
collected by unlawful or unfair means,
nor should it be collected unnecessarily.
(2) An agency that collects personal
information should take reasonable
steps to ensure that, before it collects it
or, if that is not practicable, as soon as
practicable after it collects it, the recordsubject is told:
(a) the purpose for which the information
is being collected (the ‘purpose of
collection’), unless that purpose is
obvious;
Access to Records of Personal Information
(5) Where an agency has in its possession
or under its control records of personal
information, the record-subject should be
entitled to have access to those records in
accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act 1991.
Correction of Personal Information
(6) An agency that has in its possession
or under its control records of personal
information about another person should
correct it so far as it is inaccurate or,
having regard to the purpose of collection
or to the purpose that is incidental to or
connected with that purpose, incomplete,
irrelevant, out of date, or where it
would give a misleading impression in
accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act 1991.
Use of Personal Information
(7) Personal information should not be
used except for a purpose to which it is
relevant.
(b) if the collection of the information is
authorised or required by or under law
– that the collection of the information
is so authorised or required; and
(8) Personal information should not be used
by an agency for a purpose that is not
the purpose of collection or a purpose
incidental to or connected with that
purpose unless:
(c) in general terms, of its usual practices
with respect to disclosure of personal
information of the kind collected.
(a) the record-subject has expressly or
impliedly consented to the use;
(3) An agency should not collect personal
information that is inaccurate or, having
regard to the purpose of collection, is
irrelevant, out of date, incomplete or
excessively personal.
(b) the agency using the information
believes on reasonable grounds that
the use is necessary to prevent or
lessen a serious and imminent threat
to the life or health of the recordsubject or of some other person;
Storage of Personal Information
(c) the use is required by or under law; or
(4) An agency should take such steps as are,
in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure
that personal information in its possession
or under its control is securely stored and
is not misused.
(d) the use for that other purpose
is reasonably necessary for the
enforcement of the criminal law or of
a law imposing a pecuniary penalty or
for the protection of the public revenue
or for the protection of the interests of
the government, statutory authority or
statutory office-holder as an employer.
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(9) An agency that uses personal information
should take reasonable steps to ensure
that, having regard to the purpose for
which the information is being used, the
information is accurate, complete and up
to date.
Disclosure of Personal Information
(10) An agency should not disclose personal
information about some other person to a
third person unless:
(a) the record-subject has expressly or
impliedly consented to the disclosure;
(b) the person disclosing the information
believes on reasonable grounds that
the disclosure is necessary to prevent
or lessen a serious and imminent
threat to the life or health of the
record-subject or of some other person;
(c) the disclosure is required or authorised
by or under law; or
(d) the disclosure is reasonably necessary
for the enforcement of the criminal
law, or of a law imposing a pecuniary
penalty or for the protection of the
public revenue or for the protection
of the interests of the government,
statutory authority or statutory officeholder as an employer.
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