New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILD PROTECTION (OFFENDERS REGISTRATION) ACT 2000 - SECT 19BA

19BA Exemption of certain agencies from privacy protection legislation

(1) A scheduled agency--

(a) may collect and use personal information about a registrable person, and

(b) may disclose personal information about a registrable person to another scheduled agency,

if the collection, use or disclosure accords with a written authorisation given by a senior officer of the agency.

(2) An authorisation under this section must specify--

(a) the period (maximum 12 months) for which it has effect, and

(b) the agencies to which the personal information may be disclosed.

(3) A senior officer of a scheduled agency may give an authorisation under this section only if the officer is satisfied that--

(a) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there is a risk of substantial adverse impact on--

(i) the registrable person, or

(ii) some other person or class of persons,

if the collection or use of the personal information, or the disclosure of the personal information to one or more of the agencies specified in the authorisation, does not occur, or

(b) the collection or use of the personal information, or the disclosure of the personal information to one or more of the agencies specified in the authorisation, is likely to assist in developing or giving effect to a case management plan for the registrable person.

(3A) For the purposes of avoiding an adverse impact or for developing or giving effect to a case management plan for a registrable person as referred to in subsection (3), the Commissioner of Police may, by written notice served on a scheduled agency, direct the scheduled agency to provide to the Commissioner personal information about the registrable person collected or used by the scheduled agency of the kind described in the notice.

(3B) The scheduled agency is authorised to disclose, and must disclose, the personal information about the registrable person to the Commissioner of Police.

(3C) The provision of information under this section in good faith--

(a) does not give rise to any liability to civil, criminal or disciplinary action, and

(b) is not a breach of professional etiquette or ethics or a departure from accepted standards of professional conduct.

(4) This section has effect despite anything to the contrary in the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 or the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 .

(5) In this section--

"personal information" means anything that constitutes personal information for the purposes of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 or the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 .

"scheduled agency" means an agency listed in Schedule 1.

"senior officer" , in relation to a scheduled agency, means a member of staff of the agency whom the head of the agency has nominated in writing as being a senior officer for the purposes of this section.

"substantial adverse impact" includes, but is not limited to, serious physical or mental harm, sexual abuse, significant loss of benefits or other income, imprisonment, loss of housing or the loss of a carer.

(6) The regulations may amend or substitute Schedule 1.