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Privacy

Our commitment to privacy

The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women (the department) understands that visitors and users of our website are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of information that is provided to us.

The department and is committed to protecting your privacy (PDF, 305 KB) protecting your privacy (DOC, 348 KB) and manages personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) and other obligations contained in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (the IP Act).

Privacy Guide - personal information held by the Department

The IP Act contains 11 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) which apply to the Department. IPP5 places an obligation on agencies to take reasonable steps to ensure that people are aware of the types of personal information collected and held by an agency, why that information is held, what it is used for, and how an individual can access their personal information. Our Privacy guide (PDF, 540 KB) Privacy guide (DOCX, 379 KB) is designed to meet the department’s obligations imposed by IPP5.

Privacy plan – personal information associated with the National Redress Scheme

In April 2018, the Premier of Queensland announced that the Queensland Government will participate in the National Redress Scheme.

The department acknowledges that people who were previously in its care may have experienced child sexual abuse while in care and the Queensland Government has joined the National Redress Scheme to acknowledge and support people who experienced sexual abuse in an institutional setting.

In order to ensure the efficient management of the Queensland Government’s participation in the National Redress Scheme, the department will be the central contact point responsible for facilitating communication between all participating Queensland government institutions and the Commonwealth. The department will coordinate and manage information requests from the Commonwealth and liaise with other Queensland government agencies in relation to the National Redress Scheme.

The department has prepared a Redress privacy plan (PDF, 605 KB) Redress privacy plan (DOCX, 715 KB) which outlines the obligations on departmental employees in relation to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information associated with the National Redress Scheme.

Information collected on this website

When you visit this website, our web measurement tool and Internet Service Providers record anonymous information for statistical purposes only, including:

  • the type of browser, computer platform and screen resolution you are using
  • your traffic patterns through our site such as:
    • the date and time of your visit to the site
    • the pages you accessed and documents downloaded
    • the previous page you visited prior to accessing our site
    • the Internet address of the server accessing our site

Our web measurement software uses cookies when collecting this information. We use Google Analytics to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information for the purpose of providing statistical reporting.

No attempt is or will be made to identify you or to use or disclose your personal information except where required under a law, for example, a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect our service providers' logs.

This website contains links to third party sites, both government and non-government. The Department is not responsible for the privacy or security practices or content of such websites.

How we handle email and feedback information

This is a Queensland Government website. Email correspondence sent to this site will be treated as a public record and will be retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant regulations.

Your name and address details will not be added to a mailing list and we will not disclose these details to third parties without your consent unless required by law. Web site support staff may monitor email messages for system troubleshooting and maintenance purposes.

Access to your personal information

Individuals have the right to access the personal information that the department holds about them.

For inquiries regarding access to departmental records, please contact the department's Right to Information business area on phone (07) 3097 5605 or fax (07) 3097 5606. Please email inquiries to rti@csyw.qld.gov.au

You may also request to change the personal information about you. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information that is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date or misleading. Amendments are made by adding a notation to the document.

We may refuse your request to access or amend your personal information but you will be provided with a reason for our decision and in the case of an amendment, we will place a note with your personal information indicating that you have disputed its accuracy.

Personal information collected via surveillance camera systems

The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women collects personal information via surveillance camera systems at some of its office locations. The fact sheet Surveillance cameras and privacy (PDF, 297 KB) Surveillance cameras and privacy (DOC, 341 KB) provides information about how this personal information is handled by the department.

Information Privacy and Carers

The department has developed the fact sheet About your privacy - for carers (PDF, 415 KB) About your privacy - for carers (DOC, 370 KB) to provide carers with information on how we will handle their personal information, and their obligations to respect the privacy and confidentiality of children in their care.

Information Privacy and funded service providers

The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women provides funding to the non-government sector for the delivery of services. The fact sheet Information Privacy and Contracted Service Providers (PDF, 522 KB) Information Privacy and Contracted Service Providers (DOC, 353 KB) Information Privacy and Contracted Service Providers (RTF, 102 KB) provides information about the obligations of our contracted service providers when handling personal information in connection with fulfilling the obligations of service agreements/contracts.

Enquiries, feedback and complaints

Due to the current public health situation, the department is having to make adjustments to adhere with social distancing guidelines and staff are working remotely. This will impact our ability to respond to right to information applications and subpoenas within usual time frames. 

Please reconsider your need to apply for information at this time, unless the matter is urgent.

An update will be posted on this website when services return to normal. We apologise for any inconvenience, but as you will appreciate, the safety of our clients and staff is our highest priority.

If you have any queries about our privacy and security practices or would like to provide feedback please contact the Privacy Contact Officer via email privacy@csyw.qld.gov.au, phone on (07) 3097 5609 or write to:

Privacy Contact Officer
Right to Information, Information Privacy and Redress
Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
Locked Bag 3405
Brisbane Qld 4001

Complaints

The department is committed to effective complaints management and will deal with all complaints in a responsive, confidential and fair manner.

Complaints can be made regarding a range of issues, but the information on this page is only about privacy complaints.

For information about other complaints, please refer to our complaints management process.

If your privacy complaint relates to the actions of an organisation that is funded by the department to provide services on behalf of the department, you should contact that organisation directly.

What is a privacy complaint?

A privacy complaint is a complaint about an act or practice of the department in relation to your personal information that is a breach of the department’s obligations under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act).

Personal information is information or an opinion, including information or an opinion forming part of a database, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.

Who can make a privacy complaint?

You can make a privacy complaint if you believe that the department has not handled your personal information in accordance with the IP Act.

You can make the complaint yourself or if you have authority to act on someone’s behalf, for example you are acting as someone’s legal representative, court appointed guardian or you are the parent of someone under 18. If you are making a complaint on behalf of another person, you must provide:

  • evidence that you have your authority to act on their behalf; and
  • evidence of your identity (see Evidence of identity below).

What can I complain about?

You can make a complaint if you believe that the department has not handled your personal information in accordance with the IP Act (e.g. in relation to the collection, security, use and disclosure of that information).

When can I make a complaint?

Generally a privacy complaint must be made within 12 months after you became aware of the department’s decision or action.

Complaints made outside this time period will only be reviewed if we consider that there are exceptional circumstances.

How can I make a complaint?

You can make a complaint by completing the Privacy complaint form (DOCX).

You must provide enough information to enable us to look into the matter, including:

  • your name
  • evidence of your identity
  • how we can contact you
  • details of what occurred
  • when did it occur?
  • what effect has it had on you?
  • what do you want the department to do?

We will contact you if we need more information.

Evidence of identity

Examples of evidence which will be accepted include a certified copy of your current passport, driver’s licence or birth certificate.

Copies of documents proving identity should be certified by a lawyer, notary public, a commissioner for declarations or a justice of the peace. Please ensure that you forward the document with the certifying officer’s original signature. A photocopy of the certifying officer’s signature cannot be accepted.

You may provide evidence of identity as follows:

Right to Information, Information Privacy and Redress
Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
Locked Bag 3405
Brisbane Qld 4001

  • attending in person at 111 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000, and asking to speak to someone from the Information Privacy team, Right to Information, Information Privacy and Redress Branch.

What if I am not satisfied with the way my complaint is handled?

If 45 business days have elapsed since you made your complaint and you have not received a response from the department, or if you have received a response but you do not consider it to be an adequate response, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). Information about their processes is available at Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC).

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the OIC complaint process, you may ask them to refer the matter to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Information about their processes is available at Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Privacy notice: The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women collects personal information to assess and manage your complaint or respond to your feedback. Your information will be used for purposes related to the management of your complaint or feedback and may also be used for the administration and evaluation of the complaint or feedback process. Your personal information will be managed in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act).

Personal information in relation to your complaint may be disclosed to other people or agencies for the purpose of responding to or managing complaint, including the Information Commissioner and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to enable us to participate in any external review or appeal processes, or for monitoring and evaluating the department’s privacy compliance.