Does the Privacy Act 1988 apply to the PSAQ?

We have been advised that it is unlikely that the Privacy Act 1988 applies to the PSAQ, as it seems that the PSAQ falls within the exemption provided for small businesses.

However the PSAQ has chosen to voluntarily comply with privacy principles, because it is committed to meeting increasing customer and member expectations about privacy.

• What does Privacy compliance require? ↓
• What Privacy issues has the PSAQ addressed? ↓
• What is the PSAQ doing with respect to Privacy compliance? ↓
• What is the intended purpose for information collected by the PSAQ? ↓
• How does this affect you? ↓
• What Personal or Sensitive information does the PSAQ hold? ↓
• How do I get a copy of any information the PSAQ holds about me? ↓
• Final comments ↓

Privacy compliance requires organisations to:

• tell individuals the purpose for which personal information is being collected and how the organisation can be contacted to get access to that information
• only use or disclose personal information for the purpose it was collected (or another purpose that the individual would reasonably expect)
• give individuals reasonable access to their personal information and have a process in place for dealing with any complaints
• take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is secure
• develop a publicly available policy which outlines how the organisation deals with privacy.

The PSAQ ensures that any information it is given is only used “for the purpose for which it was collected”, and not used for some “secondary” purpose without the individual’s consent.

The PSAQ has also reviewed its administrative procedures with respect to confirming membership information (e.g. when someone calls and asks “is my membership current”, how do we confirm the identity of the person asking the question).

The PSAQ already ensures that:

• it keeps membership information confidential
• neither “personal” nor “sensitive” information is passed on to any third party, other than as required by law.

In order to voluntarily comply with the Privacy Act, the PSAQ has:

• reviewed how it collects personal information
• reviewed how it uses and discloses personal information
• made amendments to the forms it uses to collect information (membership application/s, and on-line collection points)
• developed a brief policy document that outlines the PSAQ's privacy processes
• addressed issues such as access to information and how complaints about privacy matters are handled.

The intended purpose for information collected by the PSAQ is:

• Communication with members about matters which affect their interests
• Membership renewal.

PSAQ members and others are entitled to expect that information the PSAQ holds about them will be kept confidential:

• “Personal” information (e.g. your home address) or “sensitive” information (e.g. if you are a PSAQ member, your PSAQ membership details) will not be passed on to any third party without your consent
• If you previously had an employment agreement registered with the PSAQ, the data collected was only used for award compliance purposes.

The PSAQ decided some time back that, in spite of requests from various sources, data held by the PSAQ will not be sold to outside organisations or individuals.

The PSAQ has a role as both a membership organisation and previous administrator (until 30 November 2005) of the real estate industry's agreement registration process.

For PSAQ members, the PSAQ holds the following “personal“ information, as provided by that individual to the PSAQ:

• Home address
• Home and/or mobile phone numbers
• Personal email address.

For PSAQ members, the PSAQ also holds the following “sensitive“ information:

• Membership status
• Membership commencement date (and, if applicable, resignation date)
• Date membership is paid to.

For those who previously had an employment agreement registered with the PSAQ, we also hold the following “personal“ information:

• Home address
• Home and/or mobile phone numbers
• Personal email address
• Which award and which stage of that award that person is/was employed under
• The name of and contact details for the employer party to that agreement
• The expiry date of each registered agreement
• Archival records of the above information.

Individuals may apply to the PSAQ in writing for a copy of the personal or sensitive information held by the PSAQ about them.  A letter of request clearly showing the applicant's signature may be forwarded to "The PSAQ Privacy Officer" as follows:

• By mail - PSAQ, PO Box 863, Springwood QLD 4127
• By fax - 07 3841 3799.

Please note that emailed requests for the above information will not be accepted.

As you can see from the above, the PSAQ has reason to believe that it’s doing a good job of complying with privacy principles.

However if you have any suggestions about how the PSAQ can improve its Privacy management, please let us know.