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Privacy & Your Personal Information:

Centrelink has a legal obligation to comply with the Privacy Act 1998 as well as the confidentiality provisions contained in the various legislation Centrelink administers.

Legislation administered by Centrelink

The confidentiality provisions in various legislation administered by Centrelink, including the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and the Family Assistance (Administration) Act 1999, also contain rules in various aspects of information privacy. These provisions impose strict legal obligations on individuals, including employees and contractors, who have access to customer information.

They permit:

  • the use of personal information within Centrelink records only where it is necessary for employees to carry out their duties
  • the disclosure of personal information to another person or agency where it is authorised or required under law or with the person's consent.

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The Information Privacy Principles

The Information Privacy Principles (IPPs), as contained in the Privacy Act 1998 set down minimum standards for the handling of personal information by Government Agencies. Compliance with the IPPs is a legal obligation. Centrelink looks for the least privacy-intrusive way of meeting our goals and in fulfilling our privacy obligations.

The Privacy Act sets standards contained in the 11 Information Privacy Principles that place legal obligations on Government Agencies, including Centrelink, to:

  • collect information in a lawful way and collect only information which is relevant for the purpose of the collection
  • tell people the purpose for which the information is collected, the authority and any circumstances where personal information is usually given to someone else
  • collect only relevant, up to date and complete information and collect it in a fair and non-intrusive way
  • keep personal information safe and secure
  • provide a public record of the nature of their personal information holding (this is contained in the 'Personal Information Digest' issued annually by the Federal Privacy Commissioner)
  • give individuals access to their personal information and allow records to be corrected if they are wrong (for more information, go to Freedom of Information)
  • check that personal information is accurate, up to date and complete before using it
  • use personal information only for a relevant purpose, and use it only for the purpose for which it was collected, unless specified exceptions apply
  • not disclose personal information to another person or agency except where specified exceptions apply

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Handling of your personal information

If you believe Centrelink has been wrong in the way it has collected or handled your personal information, you can:

  • Telephone Us and ask to be put through to the Area Privacy Officer
  • if you are dissatisfied with the investigation, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner who is independent of Centrelink. The Privacy Commissioner has the power to investigate complaints about possible breaches of the Privacy Act 1988.

Please note: It is usually best to contact Centrelink first. While it is possible for the first contact to be with the Privacy Commissioner, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner generally asks Centrelink to conduct its own inquiry first and pass any findings on to the Privacy Commissioner.

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