Disclosing information to third parties 104-04060000

Aggressive and counterproductive behaviour can include:

• assault or threatened assault of a customer or staff member, and
• damage or theft of the property of a customer or staff member on Commonwealth property

Releasing information to police

Where an offence is committed on Services Australia property, the below employees have delegation to release information to the police under the Public Interest provisions:

• Service Centre Managers (CM5, CM6 and CM7)
• Team Leaders (TL5, TL6)
• Services Managers (SM8), and
• Zone Leaders

Information exchange between Services Australia and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)

Services Australia record all incidents of customer aggression and counterproductive by Centrelink customers in CIMS.

Threats to Job Service Providers

In the event of aggression relating to a mutual customer, the relevant site or contacts should be immediately advised.

Services Australia must tell the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations about:

• incidents of aggressive or violent behaviour by job seekers at service centres
• site security/safety events involved
• where police are called to assist, and
• Managed Service Plan (MSP) details

When a customer has an active job seeker registration and an incident is recorded in CIMS, information is automatically transferred to DEWR's system.

Incident details sent are:

• Local contact User ID
• Incident ID
• Incident status
• Incident time and date
• Type and nature of incident
• Severity level of incident
• Emergency services notified
• Site Security/Safety events
• Incident Description

Note: if a Managed Service Plan (MSP) is in place, details of the MSP will also be transferred to DEWR's system.

This information will be available to Workforce Australia Employment Services Providers dealing with the job seekers concerned. For details see

• Customer aggression – Reporting and recording incidents
• Customer aggression - Escalating incidents and
• Customer aggression - Managed Service Plan (MSP)

Assault or threatened assault of a staff member not on Services Australia premises

Information can be released to the Police where there is a threat to or assault of staff:

• in the performance of their duties, or
• as a result of the performance of their duties

The below employees have the delegation to release this information:

• Service Centre Managers (CM5, CM6 and CM7)
• Team Leaders (TL5, TL6)
• Service Managers (SM8), and
• Zone Leaders

The delegated officer must complete the public Interest Release of Information form.

After the customer signs a Centrepay Deduction Authority, staff may provide the below information to the Centrepay business at the request of an Authorised Officer or Contact Officer recorded on the Organisation’s Contact Summary (OSCS) screen:

• name, date of birth and Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• deduction type and amount

Centrepay businesses should be encouraged to use Centrelink Business Online Services to reconcile customer and payment information.

Third party organisations can also access some Centrelink customer information using their Business Hub online account. For more information, see Table 1 in Customer Information Release service and Release my Information service.

Service providers are organisations contracted by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations or by Services Australia. They provide assessment or assistance for working age customers, including:

• Workforce Australia
• Community Development Program (CDP) providers
• Disability Employment Services (DES) providers
• Workforce Australia - Transition to Work (TtW) providers

All providers can access the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Employment Services System (ESS) to refer customers to:

• an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt), or
• a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA)

The Employment Services System (ESS) provides the below customer details:

• customer name, address and date of birth
• the Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• the Job Seeker Identification Number (JSID)
• aggressive indicator
• Indigenous indicator
• interpreter requirements, and
• the reason for referral

The ESS will also provide details about:

• incidents of aggressive behaviour by job seekers
• site security/safety events
• where the police were called to assist
• Managed Service Plan (MSP) details

A customer may ask Services Australia to call their financial institution to confirm the details of their next payment:

• Complete a confirmation of identity checks
• Ask the customer for the
• name, branch and phone number of the financial institution, and
• the name of the contact officer
• Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• Tell the customer what information the financial institution will get. Check the:
• Dlvry (delivery) date: field
• Net $: field
• Type: field. If 'pending stm' shows, this means their form has not yet been processed. Make sure it has been lodged
• Call the financial institution and give them the details
• Record the customer's request and any action taken on a DOC

See Requests for information after someone has died.

Public interest provisions apply to staff who have the delegation to release information, where authorised.

Services Australia has set up liaison with law enforcement agencies whereby:

• all requests for information:
• come through one central point within that agency, and
• are received by the Information Release Team
• with Queensland Police being an exception to this rule

If the officer asks for information, and they are not from Queensland Police, tell them to contact the assigned point of contact in their agency.

If the officer is from the Queensland Police, contact the Information Release Section.

Forward requests from other State and Commonwealth agencies to the Information Release Team.

For more details, see Disclosing information and CCTV to police and State and Territory agencies.

Public interest provisions apply to staff who have the delegation to release information, where authorised. In addition, authorised officers can disclose information to Commonwealth Departments and Agencies as set out in Protected Information Disclosure Authorisations (Centrelink Services). The Resources page has the link.

An express authority is where the customer gives authority for a third party to enquire on their behalf. They may give this authority verbally or in writing.

It is not the same as a nominee arrangement.

An express authority, including a Power of Attorney (POA) must state exactly:

• who can act
• if there are any limitation on powers, and
• if there is any time limit on the exercise of the authority

Verbal authority only applies for a one off time. For example, giving authority for a welfare agency to confirm payment status. Third party organisations can also access some Centrelink customer information using their Business Hub online account. For more information, see Table 1 in Customer Information Release service and Release my Information service.

Note:

• Keep a copy of a written express authority on the customer's record
• Add the details on a DOC
• Do not use the 'Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313)' for a written expressed authority, other than for nominee and PPE arrangements

Implied Authority is when a third party is a member of a 'helping' profession, and:

• the contact is clearly related to the type of service or assistance those professions would provide to the customer
• Services Australia is satisfied the professional is helping the customer in relation to the customer's business with Services Australia, and
• it is reasonably certain the customer would provide express authority if they were able to, or if Services Australia required it

See also:

• Accepting and disclosing information
• Implied consent regarding third parties

Send all applications for, and/or Commonwealth Information Orders issued under section 67N of the Family Law Act, via both email and internal mail to the Subpoena team of the Litigation Information Release Branch.

Nominees

If a nominee is appointed because a court or doctor has ruled that the customer is not capable of acting for themselves:

• the customer cannot change the arrangement, and
• do not accept information from the customer without the nominee present

The nominee may be:

• a partner
• a parent, or
• an agency such as the State Guardianship Board or an aged care facility

If the customer chooses to appoint a nominee, they can change this at any time. They can continue to deal with Services Australia.

There are three types of nominee arrangements available:

• Correspondence nominees
• Payment nominee, or
• Both a correspondence and payment nominee

A nominee arrangement can be for a specified time frame or indefinitely. No other limitations can be set. For example, it cannot be for just investment information.

Power of Attorney (POA)

Limitations can be set in a POA. These determine how the person can act on behalf of the customer.

Where a customer has a POA, they must show the documents to Services Australia. Service Officers must check the terms on the POA.

A POA is an express authority but is not a nominee arrangement. To appoint a nominee the customer must complete the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313) form. This also applies to court appointed POAs wishing to become a nominee.

See also:

• Accepting information from and disclosing information to a Power of Attorney
• Accepting information from nominees
• Disclosing information to a nominee

Delegations include:

• Service Centre Manager (CM5, CM6, CM7)
• Team Leaders (TL5, TL6)
• Service Managers (SM8)
• Service Support Managers (SSM7)
• Zone Leader
• Social Work Managers
• Social Work Support Managers
• APS5 social workers and above
• Prison Liaison Officers, and
• APS6 and all higher in Multicultural and Tailored Services Branch

If there are grounds to believe the disclosure of information is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to the life or health of a person, under the Public Interest provisions, delegated officers are able to:

• release the information to the relevant authority, such as
• police and/or
• child protection agencies (for SW APS 6 and above only)
• do this only in emergency situations

Refer all of these requests to the Information Release Section

Record all of the information disclosed on the:

• Record of decision to disclose information in the public interest form

The Resources page has the link.

Service Officers must:

• be sure of the identity of a person asking for information, and
• take extra care to make sure the fax number is correct

Use discretion when deciding to fax personal or protected information to a customer.

Use a fax cover sheet at all times. This has a warning that the information is confidential. See Resources for a link to the Corporate template library, fax cover template.

On the customer's record, add the below details on a DOC:

• details about the request, and
• the action taken, including the fax number

A customer can consent to take part in customer satisfaction surveys and other market research undertaken by Services Australia. This will show on the Other Contact Details (OCD) screen.

To exclude a customer, update the field with a value of 'N' for no.

The valid values are:

• Y = Yes
• N = No
• Blank = Not Recorded (passive consent)

Customer Information Release service enables Third Party Organisations to request the release of customer's information.

The service is available through the Business Hub.

The following types of information are available for request through the Customer Information Release service:

• Centrelink payment information
• Centrelink earnings information
• Centrelink medical certificate information
• Job Capacity Assessments (JCAs), and
• Employment Services Assessment Reports (ESAts)

The customer can decline or consent through their Centrelink Online Account to the details that are available for secure download.

Centrelink information can be requested by the customer (or individuals acting on their behalf) and Third Party Organisations by secure email to Information Release Team.