As the national regulator of Australian Government-funded aged care services, we sometimes need to collect your personal information.
There are privacy laws about:
- when we can collect your personal information
- how we can collect your personal information
- what we can use your personal information for
- how and when we can disclose (share) your personal information, including your identity.
Collecting personal information
Our purpose is to protect and improve the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of older people receiving aged care. We have a range of regulatory functions to do this, such as:
- registering providers
- auditing registered providers where they are subject to the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards
- monitoring and investigating registered providers, aged care workers and responsible persons
- dealing with complaints and feedback about registered providers, aged care workers and responsible persons
- responding to notifications of reportable incidents
- communicating with and educating the sector.
We may collect your personal information during one of our standard functions or activities. You can find more information about what we do on About us.
We collect your personal information mainly when you give it to us. This could be when you:
- speak to our officers when they visit an aged care service
- make a complaint or give feedback about an aged care provider, worker or responsible person
- notify us of a reportable incident
- ask us for information or documents
- apply for a job with us.
Depending on the situation, we may collect personal information from other people or organisations, for example when:
- we talk to aged care providers, workers or responsible persons about their services
- organisations send information to us as part of our role as the aged care regulator.
Other organisations must also follow privacy laws which list how they can collect, store and use your personal information.
If you choose not to give us your personal information, there is limited opportunity for ongoing involvement with us. For example, we will not be able to contact you to provide an update or ask for more information. You can talk to us about this if you want more information.
Using personal information
We use your personal information for the purpose it is collected for. For example, when we:
- deal with complaints and feedback
- respond to reportable incidents
- assess if providers, workers or responsible persons are meeting their obligations
- investigate whether any offences have been committed.
There may be times when we collect information for one purpose but need to use it for another. For example, we may collect information as part of a complaint, then use it at another time to assess a provider, worker or responsible person.
We may use personal information to survey people about improving our services. Any companies that help us gather this information must follow privacy laws.
Disclosing personal information
We can disclose (share) your information only in certain situations, including when:
- you give us permission
- we are authorised or required to under the Aged Care Act 2024 (Chapter 7 – Information management) or other relevant laws
- it meets another exception in the Australian Privacy Principles.
We'll keep your information confidential if you ask us to. Unless this will, or is likely to, put any person's safety, health or wellbeing at risk. If this happens, we'll take all reasonable steps to let you know before we share any information.
We regularly disclose personal information to:
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Services Australia
- state and federal police
- state coroners’ offices
- state and Australian Government departments and agencies.
Our Memorandums of Understanding explain when and how we can share information with other organisations.
Overseas disclosure of personal information
We only disclose personal information overseas when:
- overseas services assess our email traffic for malicious and harmful content
- we send information to you while you’re overseas
- we have your permission.
We'll take all reasonable steps to notify you in any other situation.
Privacy complaints
If you’re concerned about the way we handled your personal information, you can make a complaint about us.
If you’re unhappy with our response to your complaint, you can complain to the Australian Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner is independent and has the power to investigate complaints about possible breaches of privacy law.
You can find more information on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.
More information
We handle personal information in line with the Aged Care Act 2024, the Privacy Act 1998 and Australian Privacy Principles.
Our Privacy Policy describes:
- how we collect personal information
- what type of personal information we collect
- how we use and disclose personal information
- how you can access and correct the personal information we have about you
- how you can make a complaint about the way we’ve handled, used or disclosed your personal information
- how we keep your personal information safe.
If you have questions or concerns, call us on 1800 951 822 or email us at info@agedcarequality.gov.au.
