The Privacy Act

Public Servants are governed by the Privacy Act and are bound by the Information Privacy Principles under that Act.

Dealing with workers' compensation can be a sensitive issue, especially as medical and other personal information is being handled and recorded.

It is important to realise that what is read and seen must only be used for its intended purpose and that is to make decisions regarding the liability of compensation claims.

In particular, as part of Principle 11 of the Information Privacy Principles, there are limits on what is able to be disclosed about an employee's personal information, even when dealing with liability issues.

For example, details of medical conditions that are not connected with the claimed condition, or about the private life of the individual (such as working mother, single mother/father, sexual preferences and so on) must not be divulged.

This is particularly important when seeking an independent medical opinion, and doctors are being provided with medical records and reports.

In the first instance, the employee must be made aware that information is being provided to the doctor.  To this end, there is a privacy paragraph in the standard letter sent to the employee when advising them of their appointment with the specialist.

The doctor should also be made aware that the information being requested is only being used for the purposes of investigating liability or other compensation related issues.  A privacy paragraph is also included in the standard letter sent to the specialist.