Disclosing personal information and CCTV to police and State and Territory agencies 104-04060030

Delegated officers may authorise the disclosure of relevant information to police and authorities.

Resources has a link to the Program Delegations and Authorisations Register intranet page.

Contact the Information Release Section when a staff member:

• is asked to provide a statement as a witness, and
• they do not have delegation, and
• the request involves the release of customer information

If the incident occurred at work, staff only include the work address on a witness statement. They do not need to include their home address.

For:

• Release of CCTV footage, go to Step 2
• Enforcement of criminal law, go to Step 3
• Missing Persons, go to Step 4
• Threat to life, health or welfare, go to Step 5
• Proceeds of crime, go to Step 6
• Victims of Crime, go to Step 7
• Other external agencies, see Step 1 in Table 2

All Services Australia staff can release CCTV footage to police. The agency recommends that managers oversee this release.

Staff can release footage from both inside and outside any agency premises. This may include:

• customer service centres
• Smart Centres, or
• agency offices

The release of CCTV is permitted under the Australian Privacy Principal 6.2 (e), see the References page.

Staff need to make sure that the release is:

• for one or more enforcement related activity, and
• the footage is relevant to the police investigation

For example:

A customer assaults another customer in a service centre. Only release the footage that involves the moments before, during and after the incident.

Send CCTV footage via email using classification OFFICIAL:Sensitive, Personal privacy. This is due to the restriction in the use of USB and discs.

Staff must:

• record the release on the CCTV Access Register. Resources has a link, and
• email their Team Leader to confirm the release.

No further action is required.

Contact the Public interest team for help with the release.

For technical difficulties contact the Security Branch. Resources has a link.

Delegated officers may disclose relevant information if the disclosure is necessary:

• for the enforcement of a criminal law that relates to an indictable offence punishable by imprisonment of 2 years or more, or
• for the enforcement of a law imposing a monetary penalty equivalent to 40 Commonwealth penalty units or more, or
• to prevent an act that will have a significant adverse effect on the public revenue

Information may also be disclosed if the release relates to an offence, or threatened offence:

• against a Commonwealth employee, or
• against Commonwealth property, or
• in agency premises

Requested information may include:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• contact details
• payment information

Delegated officers may disclose relevant information if the disclosure is necessary for:

• investigating a major crime or the death of a person
• investigating allegations or serious malpractice or professional misconduct
• the protection or public revenue
• assisting authorities to identify a deceased person, and/or details of services for which medical and pharmaceutical benefits had been paid

Requested information may include:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• contact details
• Medicare or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) information

Delegated officers may disclose relevant information if the disclosure is necessary:

• to assist in relation to the whereabouts of the missing person, or
• to locate a person

Staff should make sure there is no reasonable ground to believe that the missing person would not want the information disclosed.

Requested information may include:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• contact details
• payment information
• last contact with Centrelink

Delegated officers may disclose relevant information if the disclosure is necessary:

• to establish if a person was alive at a particular time
• to give information relating to the persons last know location
• to where the person is missing
• to determine if the missing person is deceased

Refer requests for information relating to missing persons to their established respective liaison points or to the Information Release Team.

Requested information may include:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• contact details
• last contact with a health provider

Both the Centrelink and Medicare programmes have delegated officers. These 'officers':

• have the authority to disclose relevant information to the relevant authority
• can disclose information when it is necessary to prevent or lessen a threat to the life, health or welfare of a person

Staff must consult the delegations register to ensure that the Team Leader/manager holds delegation. Resources has a link.

If they do not hold delegation, contact the Release of Information team.

Delegated Centrelink officers are able to disclose information if it is necessary:

• for the making of a' proceeds of crime order', or
• to support or enforce a 'proceeds of crime order'

These requests usually ask for the below:

• contact information
• payment and banking information
• other details relating to debts and assets recorded on the Centrelink database

Send these requests via email to the Release of Information team.

Information can be released to help authorities to contact a person about their possible entitlement to compensation in a reparation process.

These requests usually ask for the below:

• address, and
• contact details

Only delegated officers may authorise the disclosure of relevant information to State and Territory agencies.

Resources has a link to the Program Delegations and Authorisations Register intranet page

For

• Child protection agencies, go to Step 2
• Deceased customers, go to Step 3
• Public Guardian, go to Step 4
• Medical boards, go to Step 5

Services Australia has established liaison points with all State and Territory child protection agencies.

These requests must go to the Information Release team via the respective liaison points.

For more details, see Disclosure of information to child protection agencies.

Delegated officers may to relevant agencies if it is necessary to:

• give relevant information to official agencies investigating a death
• release information about an estate to the Executor or administrator of the Estate

Delegated officers can only release information from the deceased customer's Centrelink record.

Burials assistance

Information may be disclosed to help state authorities determine if a customer should get a destitute burial.

These requests may come from the below:

• the police
• the courts
• government authorities investigating the death of an individual

These requests usually ask for the below:

• address
• contact details
• bank account details

Delegated officers may disclose relevant information to help state and territory public guardians with:

• investigations into allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an adult who has impaired capacity, or
• investigating an Adult Guardian application for a person within impaired decision making capacity

Centrelink

These requests usually ask for the below:

• contact details
• bank account details
• payment information
• medical reports relevant to determining impaired capacity

Medicare

These requests usually ask for the below:

• Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme information

Delegated officers may release information to Commonwealth, state and territory medical boards, such as the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

This can be to:

• assist the authority in investigating allegations of serious malpractice or professional misconduct; or
• prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the life or health of an individual

These requests usually ask for the below:

• Medicare and PBS claims history
• patient services and prescriptions history

Staff must consult with the Release of Information team before releasing information.