Service NSW, together with its partner agencies, the Department of Customer Service and NSW Reconstruction Authority, is collecting your personal and/or health information for the purposes of assessing your eligibility for the Back Home grant (the Grant) and administering the Grant. The personal and/or health information you provide is collected and held by Service NSW (McKell Building, 2-24 Rawson Pl, Haymarket NSW 2000).  

Service NSW gives priority to protecting the privacy of your information. We do this by handling personal and/or health information in a responsible manner and in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records Information Protection Act 2002.

Why we collect your information

Service NSW is collecting your personal and/or health information for the purposes of: 

  • providing disaster recovery assistance, 
  • assessing your current situation and providing you with the necessary services and assistance, 
  • providing information to other relevant government agencies who provide services relevant to your current situation if you agree to that use
  • contacting you to follow up on your situation to ensure all necessary services and assistance has been provided,
  • conducting auditing, investigation and compliance activities to assess whether the eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions have been, and are being met, to investigate any allegations of fraud or failure to comply with Terms and Conditions and to assess the financial integrity of the Grant. This may involve sharing information with NSW Reconstruction Authority, Revenue NSW, NSW Treasury, Commonwealth Treasury, the Department of Customer Service or other public or private entities, for example NSW Police, for this purpose,
  • other directly related purposes. 

Service NSW will only collect such information that is reasonably necessary to provide the required services and assistance. 

Information we collect

Service NSW collects the following personal and/or health information: 

  • your full name, date of birth, contact details (address, email and phone number)
  • proof of identity information, which may include your driver licence, Medicare card details or other proof of identity
  • your banking details for payment
  • additional personal information if it is required to satisfy the eligibility requirements for payment.

How we may use this information

Service NSW maintains and uses information collected about you for internal administrative purposes, including for the purposes of our interactions with you. Service NSW may use your personal and/or health information to:

  • Verify the information you provide as may be necessary to process your application and subject to applicable laws in order to, but not limited to:
    • confirm the information you provide in support of your application; and
    • request additional information or clarification about your application or your eligibility for payments under the Grant.
  • Contact you to discuss the outcome of your application.
  • Contact you to invite you to participate in a voluntary evaluation of the Grant.
  • Assess your eligibility for other State and Commonwealth government financial support programs.
  • Identify other Service NSW administered grants, vouchers or rebates for which you may be eligible, or to identify other products and services that may be relevant to you.

How we may disclose this information

Service NSW may disclose the information in your application to:

  • Revenue NSW to:
    • assess your eligibility for a payment under the Grant,
    • take the necessary action so the payment may be recovered, if Service NSW or Revenue NSW reasonably suspect that the conditions for payment under the Grant have been contravened. 
  • NSW Reconstruction Authority, the Department of Customer Service, NSW Treasury, Commonwealth Treasury, the Department of Communities and Justice and any other relevant NSW Government agency for the purposes of future planning, auditing, data aggregation and analysis, administering, reporting on and evaluating the Grant and providing follow-up support to you.
  • NSW Reconstruction Authority, for the purpose of verifying NSW Government home and/or contents support received by Disaster Relief Grant applicants.
  • Public Works Advisory, for verifying property damage assessments for auditing purposes.
  • NSW Police, if Service NSW reasonably suspects a case of fraud or other criminal activity.
  • Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), if Service NSW reasonably suspects professional or other misconduct, or fraud or other financial crime. 
  • Any relevant regulatory, professional or industry body (such as the Tax Practitioners Board, CPA Australia Ltd, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or the Law Society of NSW or another Australian State or Territory), if Service NSW reasonably suspects a case of professional or other misconduct. 
  • Conduct auditing and compliance activities, on and from the time of application, to confirm that the relevant eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions have been met and to ensure the financial integrity of the Grant. This may involve sharing information with, and requesting additional information from, other public/private organisations, including but not limited to:
    • NSW Reconstruction Authority
    • Revenue NSW.
  • Public/private entities (including the Document Verification Service), in order to verify the information you provide in support of your application or request additional information.
  • Report the matter to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), if Service NSW reasonably suspects a case of fraud, other criminal activity or any type of unsatisfactory professional conduct.
  • Other directly related purposes.

Service NSW may share de-identified information for research and statistical purposes in accordance with the Data Sharing (Government Sector) Act 2015. This may include sharing certain information to NSW Reconstruction Authority for the purposes of data analysis and aggregation so that NSW Reconstruction Authority can analyse and report for auditing purposes on the Grant. Any report or publications on the evaluation of the Grant will not identify any individual that has registered or participated in the Grant.

Service NSW will not provide your personal information to third parties for any purposes not already stated in this privacy notice, or to which you have not otherwise consented, unless Service NSW is required, or authorised, by law to do so. This may include disclosure to other government agencies and partners. Disclosure may also be made to law enforcement, dispute resolution, statutory or regulatory bodies or as required by law. 

Whether you are required by law to provide us with this information

Providing us with the requested information is not required by law. However, if you choose not to provide us with the requested information, we may not be able to provide you the necessary services and assistance you require. 

Further information

You may ask for access to the information we hold about you at any time and request to update, correct or amend your personal information by calling 13 77 88. 

Please visit our privacy page for more information about how Service NSW handles your personal and/or health information. This includes how you can access and seek correction of the information, how privacy enquiries or complaints can be made, how information is securely stored and how to contact us.

Last updated: 8 February 2024