Information protection principles
1. What issues does this bulletin address?
1.1 - This bulletin provides guidance on the 12 information protection principles (IPPs) under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP Act). The IPPs deal with the collection, storage, access, use, disclosure and destruction of personal information (excluding health information). It focuses on an individual’s rights to access and update their own personal information and the department’s obligations to ensure personal information records are current and correct.
2. General overview of the IPPs
2.1 - The IPPs1 are guiding principles for dealing with personal information2 that apply to the department and other NSW public sector agencies. The IPPs are legal obligations to protect the privacy of individuals, including children and young people.
2.2 - The IPPs apply to personal information, which is any information or opinion about an individual if their identity can be reasonably determined. It is not necessary to name a person for their identity to be determined. Examples of personal information include a student’s name, address, class, school, family details, fingerprints, exam results and student records.
2.3 - Where the personal information is health information3 then the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (HRIP Act) applies, including the 15 Health Privacy Principles (HPPs). The HPPs are similar to the IPPs but contain additional rules about anonymity, identifiers and record linkage. Further guidance on the HPPs are at Health Privacy Principles (HPPs) explained for members of the public.
2.4 - The IPPs are summarised below:
Collection of personal information4
- IPP 1. Lawful purpose – The department must only collect personal information for a lawful purpose directly related to and necessary for the department’s functions or activities.
- IPP 2. Direct collection – The department must collect personal information directly from an individual unless the individual has authorised the collection of information from someone else or the parent or legal guardian if the individual is under 16 years old.5
- IPP 3. Privacy notice – The department must inform individuals about the collection of their personal information and provide information about their rights.6
- IPP 4. Relevance – The department must only collect personal information that is relevant and accurate. The department must not collect excessive information or be unreasonably intrusive.
- IPP 5. Storage and security – The department must only keep personal information for as long as necessary and securely destroy it when it is no longer needed. It must take reasonable steps to secure the information against unauthorised access and misuse.
Access and transparency
- IPP 6 Transparency – The department must enable individuals to find out if or what information the department holds about them.7
- IPP 7. Access – The department must allow an individual to access their own personal information without excessive delay or expense.
- IPP 8. Correction – The department must allow an individual to update or correct their own personal information to ensure it is accurate, relevant, up to date, complete and not misleading.
Use of personal information8
- IPP 9. Accuracy – The department must take appropriate steps to check information is up to date, accurate and complete before using it.
- IPP 10. Limits on use – Unless an individual consents to additional uses of their personal information, the department must only use the information for the purpose for which it was collected, a directly related secondary purpose, or to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health of the individual.
Disclosure of personal information
- IPP 11. Disclosure – The department must not disclose personal information to a third party unless one or more of the following apply:
- The disclosure is directly related to the purpose the department collected the information and there is no reason to believe the individual would object.
- The individual is aware or reasonably likely to be aware the disclosure would occur (for example, it is included in the department’s Privacy Notice).
- Disclosure would prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any individual.
Additional limits apply to the disclosure of sensitive information as set out in IPP 12.
Exceptions exist to allow disclosure under a subpoena, court order, statutory demand notice, for law enforcement and where authorised under other laws.9
IPP 12. Special additional disclosure restrictions – The department is subject to the following special restrictions:
- Sensitive information10 about an individual cannot be disclosed by the department without that individual’s consent except to prevent or minimise a serious and imminent threat to health or life.
- The department cannot disclose personal information to anyone outside of NSW (interstate or overseas) or to an Australian Government agency unless an exception is available.11
2.5 - The HPPs apply to the department when it is dealing with health information. The HPPs broadly align with the 12 IPPs except for HPPs 12, 13 and 15:
Health Privacy Principles
HPP 12. Identifiers – The department may only identify individuals using unique identifiers if it is reasonably necessary to carry out the department’s functions efficiently.
HPP 13. Anonymity – The department must provide individuals who are receiving health services from the department (for example, students receiving counselling services at schools) the opportunity to not identify themselves where it is lawful and practicable to do so.
HPP 15. Linkage of health records – The department must only include health information about an individual in a health records linkage system (a computerised system that links health records held by different organisations to share information) if the individual has expressly consented to this information being included and linked in the system.
3. Access to personal information (IPP 7)
3.1 - Individuals are generally entitled to access their personal information held by the department without excessive delay or expense. A parent or legal guardian may also request access to personal information on behalf their child.
Requesting access under the PPIP Act
3.2 - Individuals can request access to their personal information by completing and returning a privacy application for access form.
3.3 - Information requested by an individual (or their parent / legal guardian) will be provided unless access might detrimentally affect the department’s disciplinary investigations or, in the case of a student requesting access, there is a risk to the promotion and maintenance of a safe and disciplined learning environment.12 The department may also delay providing a student with access to their personal information to obtain parental consent.
3.4 - A student can object to a decision to share their personal information with a parent or legal guardian (for example, in circumstances where a student does not wish to have their personal information disclosed to a parent, guardian or caregiver). The matter will be reviewed by the school principal, with a right of appeal to the network Director, Educational Leadership.13
Requesting access under the GIPA Act
3.5 - IPP 7 only allows an individual to seek access to their own personal information. Individuals who are seeking access to personal information and other information, or who are seeking information that is not their own personal information, can request access under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act) by completing the GIPA Access Application.
4. Correction (IPP 8) and Accuracy (IPP 9)
4.1 - An individual can request to update, correct, delete or amend their personal information by completing and returning a privacy application for amendment form. A parent or legal guardian may also request to amend personal information held on their child enrolled at a NSW public school.14 Contact legal@det.nsw.edu.au for any questions on the appropriate business unit to send a request to. 15
4.2 - Amendment requests will generally be approved and actioned except where there is a risk of any of the following:
- breaching the confidentiality of counsellor records
- detrimentally affecting or preventing the proper exercise of the department’s complaint handling or investigative functions
- disrupting a safe and disciplined learning environment (but only in circumstances where amending the personal information of a student at their request would risk breaching the confidentiality of information provided by staff or students about that student).16
4.3 - Where an individual requests the correction of information which was correct at the time of collection but is now out of date, a notation on the record can be made rather than amending the historic record.
4.4 - Before using personal information, the department must take appropriate steps to ensure the information is accurate, relevant, up to date, complete and not misleading when considering the purpose for its use.17 This is important when a school is relying on information provided by a student or parent using a pre-filled form (for example, a pre-populated enrolment application where the student or parent might not notice that the pre-populated information is not correct18). Checking any information provided to the department will reduce the amount of amendment requests from students and parents.
4.5 - A parent may be asked to validate the information provided.
5. Additional resources
5.1 Further information is available at:
- NSW IPC Information Access Fact Sheets and other guidance
- The department’s:
- GIPA informal release information
- Informal Release – Guidelines for Staff
- Legal Issues Bulletin 1 - Managing Personal and Health Information
- Legal Issues Bulletin 2 - Collecting Personal and Health Information
- Legal Issues Bulletin 3 - Storage of and access to personal information
- Privacy Information and Forms
1 IPC Fact sheet - Information protection principles for the public.
2 Managing personal and health information (nsw.gov.au)
3 Health Information is defined in section 6 of the HRIP Act as being information or an opinion about: a person’s physical or mental health or disability; a person’s wishes about the future provision of health services to themselves; health services provided or to be provided to a person; an organ donation; genetic information; and healthcare identifiers (for example, a Medicare number).
4 Collecting personal and health information.
5 Under paragraph 7.1.2 of the department’s Privacy Code of Practice, personal information may also be collected directly from a parent or guardian where the student is 16 years and older.
6 The department’s Privacy Notice is available online here: collection-notice.pdf (nsw.gov.au)
7 This is done in the department’s Privacy Management Plan and by individual privacy notices advising individuals who to contact in respect of particular projects.
8 Storage of and access to personal information.
9 Chapter 16A of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) and Part 5A of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) are laws authorising disclosure which provide exceptions to IPP 11.
10 Sensitive information is defined under section 19(1) of the PPIP Act as information about a person’s ethnicity, race, religious, philosophical or political views or their union membership or sexual activities.
11 The applicable exceptions are set out in section 19(2) of the PPIP Act (for example, the individual expressly consents to the disclosure or the department reasonably believes the recipient of the information is subject to a law, binding scheme or contract that effectively upholds principles for fair handling of the information that are substantially similar to the IPPs).
12 Paragraph 12.1.3 of the department’s Privacy Code of Practice.
13 Paragraph 3.2 of the department’s Privacy Code of Practice.
14 Paragraph 13.1.3 of the department’s Privacy Code of Practice.
15 Section 15(1) of the PPIP Act.
16 Paragraph 13 of the department’s Privacy Code of Practice.
17 Section 16 of the PPIP Act.
18 Pre-populated enrolment applications exist to reduce the burden on parents and schools when a student transfers to a different NSW public school or their sibling needs to enrol. The department’s enrolment system (ERN) allows schools to print a pre-filled enrolment form template to enable parents to view and update or correct information held by the department. Student and family details are entered into the ERN during the enrolment process of the first child to enrol and updated periodically by the school.