Sometimes we have to give your information to other people. We only give out your information if there’s a good reason to, or you want us to, and the law allows us to. For example, to help you get the supports you need.
We take steps to keep your information secure, even after we give it to other people.
When we give out your information, we’ll keep a record of this. We’ll note what information we gave out, when we gave it out and why. We’ll also note who we gave your information to.
In very rare situations, we may use the services of an organisation overseas to store your information electronically. If so, we’ll let you know which country it may be stored in.
We may give your information to:
Can we give your information to your nominee or child representative?
Yes. We can give your child representative or nominee any information we have about you. We do this so they can help you as a participant. A nominee is someone who makes decisions for you that relate to your support under the NDIS. Learn more about nominees and child representatives .
What if you want us to give your information to other people?
We can give your personal information to other people if you agree or ask us to. For example, you, your child representative or nominee might want us to give your information to a provider. We could discuss your needs with the provider to help us decide if your supports are reasonable and necessary.
When we give your information to other people, they need to follow the same rules as we do. They also can’t use or give out your information outside these rules.
When you agree for us to share your information, we call this consent.
If you don’t consent for us to give your information to other people, we’ll only give out your information if it’s allowed or required under the law. This may happen for some of the reasons described below.
When might we give your information to other government bodies?
Sometimes we need to give your information to other government bodies. We only do this either with your consent or where this is allowed by law.
For example, we might need to give your information to your state or territory government as part of the in-kind program .
If we do this, we’ll record what information we gave to the government body, and why.
When do we share your information in the public interest?
Sometimes, we might need to give out your information to someone else if it’s in the public interest. This may happen if sharing your personal information would be for the common good.
Some of the reasons for this could be:
to help enforce laws, or stop something that could waste government money
to give authorities information about a crime or threat against our staff, or about an incident at our offices
to correct a mistake that affects our reputation. For example, there might be a news story about your experience with us that isn’t true
to let a government minister know about something
if you’re missing, or if you die
if there’s an issue about child welfare.
We only give out this information to people and agencies who have a genuine and legitimate interest in the information. This means the person or agency actually needs to know the information and needs it for a good reason.
For example, a child protection agency may ask us for information about a child participant, to make sure the child is being cared for properly. We would only give out the information the child protection agency needs for this purpose. We wouldn’t give out the other personal information we hold about that child.
We only give out your information in the public interest if the person can’t reasonably find the information from anyone else but us.
What if there’s a threat to health or safety?
We may need to give out your information if there are reasonable grounds to believe there’s a risk to life, health or safety. This might be to your health and safety, or to someone else’s. We’ll only do this if, based on what we know, giving out your information could stop or reduce this threat.
For example, we might need to give your information to emergency services or other authorities. This might be if we find out:
you, or someone else you’re involved with, may not be safe, or your life may be in danger
you, or someone else you’re involved with, may be being harmed, abused or neglected
you’re at risk of harm, abuse or neglect
someone else is physically or emotionally threatening you
you, or someone else you're involved with, may be harming, abusing or neglecting others
you made a threat to someone else, including our staff.
