Service NSW, in partnership with Department of Premier and Cabinet (Women NSW), is collecting your personal information to assess your eligibility to apply for the Return to Work Program ('the program').
Service NSW gives priority to protecting the privacy of your personal information. We do this by handling personal information in a responsible manner and in accordance with the NSW privacy laws including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
What personal information do we collect?
Service NSW will collect your personal information for the purpose of processing your application, determining your eligibility for the program and managing your participation in the Return to Work Program. This will include the collection of information such as:
- your full name, date of birth, and contact details (residential and mailing address, email address and phone number)
- proof of identity information, which may include your driver's licence, Medicare card details or other proof of identity information
- your gender
- information on your resume (where applicable)
- your banking details (BSB and Account number)
- information to satisfy the eligibility requirements for the payment of the grant, such as cost estimates for goods and/or services to be purchased (for instance, technology and office equipment, childcare fees etc.)
- if your application is lodged by an authorised third party on your behalf, they will also need to provide power of attorney or legal guardianship documents.
Service NSW is also collecting the following additional personal information on an optional basis to prioritise the Return to Work Program applications:
- whether you identify as a First Nations woman
- whether you are living with disability
- whether you are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background
- whether you are living in a regional, rural or remote area (beyond Greater Sydney)
- if you are a refugee
- whether you are aged 50 years and above
- whether you are young (under 18 years of age) and living in out of home care
- if you are a victim of domestic and family violence
- if you are a carer (you provide care to another person who lives with a disability, medical condition, mental illness, or is frail and aged).
Service NSW will only collect such information that is reasonably necessary to provide the required services and assistance.
How do we use and disclose 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 information to:
- process and determine eligibility for the Return to Work Program, including responding to complaints and enquiries. This may include disclosing the contents of your application, and any other additional information you provide to Women NSW for further review
- provide you with further information and guidance about the Return to Work Program
- contact you, or any other public/private authority, to request/verify/confirm the information you provide in support of your application, to enable us to process your application, subject to applicable law
- contact you to discuss the application process and the outcome of your application; including information and guidance, and to invite participation in an evaluation of the Return to Work Program (participation in evaluation activities is voluntary) to ensure that the delivery of services remain client focused
- conduct auditing and compliance activities to confirm that the relevant eligibility criteria and terms and conditions have been met and to ensure the financial integrity of the Return to Work Program. This may involve sharing information with Women NSW, or other public/private organisations, for example NSW Police or Australian Tax Office, or their delegated agent for this purpose
- conduct follow up calls at the three and six month stages of the program to ensure successful completion of your Return to Work plan
- Identify other Service NSW administered grants, vouchers and rebates for which you may be eligible, or to identify other products and services that may be relevant to you.
Service NSW may disclose the information in your application to:
- Women NSW for further review of your application
- NSW Police, if Service NSW reasonably suspects a case of fraud or other criminal activity
- public/private entities in order to verify the information you provide in support of your application or request additional information.
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 Treasury, Women NSW or Department of Customer Service for the purposes of data analysis and aggregation so that NSW Treasury, Women NSW and the Department of Customer Service can analyse and report for auditing purposes on the Return to Work Program. Any report or publications on the evaluation of Return to Work Program will not identify any individual that has participated in Return to Work Program as an applicant.
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.
Are you 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 process your application.
Service NSW does not require you to disclose your tax file number for the purposes of the program. If you submit information to Service NSW that includes your tax file number, for example, an Australian income tax return, you should always redact your tax file number. In the event that you are not able to redact your tax file number, Service NSW will not make use of that tax file number for any purpose and will take reasonable security measures to protect your tax file number from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or other misuse.
We will keep your information secure
Service NSW will take reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse. Your personal information will be held and disposed of securely at McKell Building, 2-24 Rawson Place, Sydney 2000.
Further information
For further details about how Service NSW handles your personal information, how you can access and seek correction of the information, or how privacy enquiries or complaints can be made, please visit Service NSW Privacy. You can call Service NSW on 13 77 88.