Privacy Collection Notice
This Privacy Collection Notice describes how the Chemicals Policy section within Safe Work Australia (‘we,’ ‘us’ or ‘SWA’) collects, uses and discloses your personal information. The Chemicals Policy section develops national policy and guidance relating to hazardous chemicals, including the workplace exposure standards and limits.
The consultation on the impacts of the proposed workplace exposure limits for benzene, chlorine, copper, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide, respirable crystalline silica and titanium dioxide (‘the 9 chemicals’) is being undertaken as part of the development of an Impact Analysis on the proposed workplace exposure limits for the 9 chemicals (‘the Impact Analysis’).
Your privacy rights
Your personal information is protected by law, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which regulate how entities including SWA may collect, use, disclose and store personal information.
SWA will only collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, the performance of our functions or activities.
What personal information do we collect?
We will collect your personal information from you when you respond to our consultation on the impacts of the proposed workplace exposure limits for the 9 chemicals.
Some personal information we collect from you may form part of your response. This may include your name (if you are submitting on behalf of an individual), your organisation’s name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation), the size of your organisation, the type of work you do, your industry, the jurisdiction(s) in which you are based, and your views expressed in the submission.
We may also collect personal information to contact you, if needed, to clarify your feedback and comments. This will include your name and contact details. This is optional and you are not required to provide this personal information to participate in the consultation.
Why do we collect your personal information?
We will collect your personal information as it helps us to perform SWA’s core functions including to advise the WHS Ministers on national policy matters and initiatives relating to WHS and workers' compensation, and to undertake and publish research to inform the development and evaluation of WHS and workers’ compensation policies and strategies.
Collection of this information is authorised under section 6 of the Safe Work Australia Act 2008 (Cth), in conjunction with APP 3.1.
If you do not wish to disclose your personal information, you may provide submissions anonymously. However, if we are not able to collect your personal information, we will not be able to contact you for any further information about your submission if needed. If you choose not to provide details about your industry, this may limit our understanding of the implementation of potential options across different industries.
How do we use and disclose your personal information?
We will use and disclose your personal information to develop the Impact Analysis, which will advise WHS ministers on their decision on whether or not to implement the proposed workplace exposure limit for each of the 9 chemicals.
This includes providing your submission (which may include your personal information) to the contracted Service Provider (Nous Group) who we have engaged to undertake economic impact and cost benefit analyses for the proposed workplace exposure limits for the 9 chemicals. The analyses will form part of the Impact Analysis for WHS ministers. The final Impact Analysis will not include any identifying personal information.
Should you choose to provide your personal contact information to the Agency so we can contact you, we will not provide this information to Nous Group, nor will it be published on the Consultation Hub, even if you give permission for us to publish your submission publicly.
We may also disclose your personal information:
on the Consultation Hub following the consultation period, in accordance with your instructions as to whether you would like your submission to be published publicly, anonymously or not published at all.
to our contracted service providers, so that those providers can provide ICT support or other services to assist SWA with this consultation process.
in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
to third parties where the disclosure is required or authorised by a court or tribunal order, or under an Australian law. For example, this could happen if SWA receives a court order compelling the production of information.
SWA is unlikely to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients.
We ensure that all use and disclosure of personal information complies with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Further information
Our Privacy Policy includes more information about how we handle your personal information, and how you can request access to, or correction of, the personal information we hold about you or make a privacy complaint. If you proceed, you:
consent to us collecting and handling any personal information that you provide, as set out above;
declare that if you have provided personal information about another person, that person has consented to us collecting and handling their personal information; and
declare that the information that you have provided is complete, correct and up to date.
You can contact us to access or correct your information or make a privacy complaint. Our contact information and further details about how we handle your personal information are set out in our privacy policy (available at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/privacy).