Privacy policy
This policy explains how personal information about people is collected and handled by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
'Personal information' includes any government information that can be linked to a person who is alive or who has been alive within the last five years. It can include numbers and things like photos of a person.
The Office
The Information Commissioner is the independent officer appointed to oversee the Freedom of Information and Privacy provisions of the Northern Territory Information Act. The main functions of the Office of the Information Commissioner are to:
- promote understanding and awareness of FOI and Privacy in the community and in the public sector;
- deal with complaints about breaches of privacy and about FOI decisions made by public sector organisations (from 1 July 2004).
Type of information collected
As part of our 'understanding and awareness' function, we collect contact details, usually work details, for people who are interested in being informed about publications, presentations and events.
We also collect personal information when we respond to general inquiries and when we invite feedback or comments on particular issues.
To deal with complaints about FOI or Privacy, we will collect personal information that will include contact details and evidence relevant to the complaint. For Privacy complaints, the personal information may be about the complainant, the subject of complaint, potential witnesses and others who are involved in or affected by the issues in dispute. For FOI complaints, the information collected may be any personal information held by government, because all government information is subject to the FOI access scheme.
Similar personal information may be collected when we undertake other proceedings, such as dealing with an application for declaration of a vexatious applicant.
We also collect information about our staff and potential staff in order to perform our human resource management functions.
The type of information collected when you visit our website is discussed in our website Privacy statement.
Sensitive information - Sensitive information includes things like health information, criminal record, racial origin and sexual preferences. When sensitive information is in issue in a complaint, or is relevant to deciding the issues in dispute, it will be necessary to obtain that information for the purposes of dealing with the complaint. Otherwise, we will generally only collect sensitive information with your consent or if it is required by law.
Anonymity - If you are making a general inquiry about FOI or Privacy you do not have to identify yourself. However, if you want to make a formal complaint, identification is necessary.
Unique identifiers - We do not assign identifying codes to people or adopt identifying codes from another organisation. Complaints and inquiries are given a number, not individuals. Unique identifiers of another organisation may be collected as part of the evidence in a complaint but will not be used or disclosed without lawful authority.
Collection notice
When we collect personal information, we will take reasonable steps to ensure you are aware of what information is being sought, for what purpose, whether any law requires collection and the main consequences, if any, of not providing the information.
Use and disclosure
Our staff are only provided with the information necessary for them to carry out their functions within the Office. The Commissioner and staff are bound by strict confidentiality provisions in s.148(2) of the Act.
Personal information is used for the purposes described in the Type of information collected section above.
Some de-identified personal information from inquiries and complaints is used in awareness programs, public statements and training but not in a way to compromise privacy.
Personal information in written submissions on policy matters (not complaints) may be disclosed in reports that are made public unless the submission was accepted on a confidential basis.
Some personal information may be disclosed to an organisation in order to respond to a general inquiry, if it is clear that you want action of that type to be taken.
Details of a formal complaint will be given to the organisation complained against to allow it to respond, in accordance with the requirements of the Act and natural justice. Correspondence, submissions and evidence may be exchanged between participants for the same reason. It may be necessary to provide information to third parties who have a relevant interest in the proceedings.
Complaint hearings are closed to the public unless the Commissioner otherwise orders. Personal information may be included in published Decisions and Case notes but every effort will be made to de-identify the information except to the extent that it detracts from proper understanding of the decision.
If action is taken in the Supreme Court, it may be necessary to disclose personal information relevant to a complaint or other proceeding or function of the Office.
Transfer of information outside the Territory
Generally, we will not send your personal information outside the Territory without obtaining your consent. In some cases this consent may be implied, for example, if you ask us to transfer a complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner.
Management of information
We take reasonable steps to ensure the information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date. Where practicable we will check with you the accuracy of personal information about you before we use it.
We use a number of procedural, physical, software and hardware safeguards, together with access controls, secure methods of communication and back-up and disaster recovery systems to protect information from misuse and loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.
Generally, information is destroyed or permanently de-identified when it is no longer required But a significant amount of information is required to be kept permanently under our Records Disposal Schedule.
Access to, and correction of, information about you
The Information Commissioner is not subject to the access or correction schemes in the Information Act. The Commissioner and staff of the Office are bound by strict confidentiality requirements set out in s.148 of the Act.
However, requests for access to personal information held by the Office will be considered on a case by case basis. In most cases-
- requests will be dealt with within 30 days of receipt; and
- access will be granted except to the extent that disclosure would be contrary to s.148 of the Act, or contrary to the public interest, as reflected in the exemption provisions contained in ss.44-58 of the Act.
Requests for correction of personal information held by the Office will be considered on a case by case basis. Requests for correction will usually-
- be dealt with within 30 days of receipt; and
- be considered in terms of the principles set out in the Act.
We will not deal with requests for access or correction if the information is, or has been, in issue in a complaint made to the Office. The Commissioner considers that it is more appropriate in such cases for application to be made to the public sector organisation that holds the information.
If you want to make an inquiry about obtaining access to information about you held by the Office, or about correction of personal information about you held by the Office, you can contact the Assistant to the Information Commissioner. We may be able to help you without a formal request.
If you want further action after your initial inquiry, you can make a written request for access or correction to the Information Commissioner (e-mail is acceptable). You should include a clear description of the information or correction that you want and your contact details.
Acknowledgment - Parts of this policy are adapted with permission from the Privacy Policy of Privacy Victoria.
Last Updated on
19 June, 2008