National Carer Strategy – Privacy Collection Notice
The Department of Social Services (department, we us) is currently inviting participants to provide their views on the development of the National Carer Strategy through a discussion paper and associated questionnaire.
The Australian Government is developing a new National Carer Strategy (the Strategy), and as part of that work we want to hear from carers across the country about what is important to them and how we can ensure they have the supports and services they need to participate fully in society and fulfil their caring role.
Carers are invited to contribute to the development of the Strategy by making a submission, your views and perspectives will inform the development of the Strategy.
As part of the Consultation, we do not ask for you to provide your name, phone number or address. However, if you decide to be part of the Consultation we may be able to identify you (for example, by your email address or other computer information). Because it is your choice to participate, this means that when you provide responses to questions to the Department, you consent to your opinions and other information about you in your responses being handled in the ways described in this notice.
This privacy collection notice is designed to ensure you are aware of certain matters in relation to the department’s collection of your personal information, as required by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
What is ‘personal information’ and ‘sensitive information’?
Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
Sensitive information is a subset of personal information. It includes information or an opinion about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of associations or unions, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, or health, genetic or biometric information.
What we collect
Through your participation of the Consultation, we will ask you for a range of your personal information (some of which could be sensitive information). If you decide to share it we will collect your:
- gender
- age bracket
- race
- disability
- caring experience
- other demographic information
This information will help us to understand how caring issues may affect parts of the community differently.
If you decide to share it, we may collect personal information from you about:
- your personal views in relation to your experience, and others’ experience, about your caring role.
- your views and perspectives on support and services for carers.
- experience and understanding of matters impacting diverse communities (e.g. First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, women and girls, LGBTIQA+, regional and remote communities and people with complex needs)
How we collect your information
Your personal information relating to your personal views will be collected if you choose to participate in the survey. We will do this by:
- collecting information from your responses to the Engage.dss.gov.au discussion paper and questionnaire; and
- collecting information from you directly through an email submission.
Why we collect your personal information
Your personal information is collected for the purposes of establishing an evidence base to inform the development of the National Carer Strategy, which includes:
- Data Analysis
- Policy development
- Service design
- Future program and policy considerations
If you do not provide your personal information (including sensitive information), we will not be able to consider your views as part of the Strategy development]
Some of the information collected by us from our targeted or public consultations or surveys has research value in developing policies that extend beyond the specific consultation or survey for which it was originally collected. Where this is the case, the information that we collect from this consultation may be used for our other research purposes. In doing so, we will apply the Australian Privacy Principles to the handling of any personal information.
Who we disclose your personal information to
We may disclose your personal information to the following people, organisations or third parties:
- Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Carers Australia
- Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
- Employees from the office of the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
- other parties where the disclosure is required or authorised by law, including where there is a serious threat to the life or health of any person.
- Services Australia for the purposes of assisting the Department to administer DSS Engage and providing the Department with other information technology services
All entities contracted by us are subject to strict confidentiality, privacy and security obligations.
No information about you will be disclosed overseas.
Storage of your personal information
Storage of personal information (and the disposal of information when no longer required) is managed in accordance with the Australian Government records management regime, including the Archives Act 1983, agency-specific records authorities and general records authorities. This ensures your personal information is held securely by the Department.
All personal information collected by the Department is stored on Services Australia’s cloud storage, on servers located in Australia. Services Australia and the Department retains effective control over any personal information held on our cloud, and the information is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.
Any information disclosed to third parties will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and stored in accordance with agreed security protocols.
More information
More information about how we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy contains more information about how you can access any personal information that we hold, and how to seek correction of that personal information. It also contains information about how to make a complaint about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, as set out in the Privacy Act. If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact us at privacy@dss.gov.au.
Confirmation and consent
This section only applies if you are providing sensitive information as part of your consultation response. Please note that you do not need to provide your sensitive information if you do not wish to do so.
By providing your sensitive information as part of your Consultation response, you consent to the department collecting your sensitive information and handling your sensitive information in accordance with this privacy notice.