Privacy

Privacy legislation

Queensland has privacy legislation which applies to the Queensland public sector - the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act). The IP Act contains privacy principles which set out how agencies may and must handle personal information. Personal information means any information about an identifiable person.

There are also restrictions under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (AD Act) on the use and disclosure of information about a person’s affairs received by the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC).

The Human Rights Act 2019 (HR Act) protects against unlawful or arbitrary interference with a person’s privacy. Public entities, including the QHRC, must act and decide compatibly with human rights and give proper consideration to human rights when making a decision. Find out more about the right to privacy under the HR Act.

Security

We take strong precautions to protect your data from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse. However, this site does not provide facilities for securely transmitting information across the Internet.

We collect only necessary information about people and/or organisations as part of our regular business practice. We will never contact you to ask for payment for our dispute resolution services, and we do not request information about:

  • drivers license numbers
  • passport numbers
  • passwords
  • tax file numbers
  • other identification documents.

We encourage people to be aware of the risk posed by cyber attacks. IDCare, Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service, reports that 1200 data breaches were reported by organisations across Australia and New Zealand in the past 24 months, and over 10 million scam phone calls are attempted per month.

For information and resources on how to protect your personal information, visit the learning centre on the IDCare website which includes fact sheets, how-to videos, and other tools.

Website

QHRC is committed to protecting the privacy of our website users. We understand and appreciate that visitors to, and users of, this website, are concerned about their privacy and the confidentiality and security of information they provide to us.

As a general rule, we do not collect personal information about you when you visit our site. When you visit our site to read or download information, our web measurement tool and Internet Service Providers record only anonymous information for statistical purposes including:

  • your server and IP address
  • the name of the top level domain (for example, .gov, .com, .edu, .au)
  • the type of browser used
  • the date and time you accessed the site
  • the pages accessed and documents downloaded
  • the previous site you visited.

These statistics provide information to assist us to make improvements to the content and structure of our website.

We may also collect personal information that you choose to give us via online forms, blog comments or by email for example:

  • You may subscribe to electronic mailing lists and RSS feeds.
  • You may subscribe to participate in blog discussions.
  • You may register to participate in training or an event through our online forms.

You may also make lodge a complaint under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, the Human Rights Act 2019, or about service you have received using online forms provided by QHRC.

Cookies

Cookies are text files that a website can transfer to your computer when you access information on that site. Cookies allow websites to recognise you as you browse their website.

QHRC uses Google Analytics to gather statistics about how the website is accessed. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information for the purpose of providing statistical reporting.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers located outside of Australia. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google. If you are logged in to the QHRC website, information about your user account is NOT linked to data recorded by Google Analytics and is NOT provided to Google.

Information gathered using the Google Analytics cookie includes:

  • the number of visitors to the QHRC's website
  • how visitors arrive at the QHRC's website, for example, did they type the address in directly, follow a link from another webpage, or arrive via a search engine?
  • the number of times each page is viewed and for how long
  • time and date of visit
  • geographical location of the visitor
  • information about what browser was used to view the QHRC's website and the operating system of the computer
  • information about whether the browser supports Java and Flash
  • the speed of the user's internet connection.

Website security

We take strong precautions to protect your data from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse. However, this site does not provide facilities for securely transmitting information across the Internet.

Use and disclosure

We will only use personal information collected via our website for the purposes for which it was given to us and for related, internal management purposes.

We do not share personal information about you with other government agencies, organisations or anyone else unless one of the following applies:

  • you have consented
  • you'd expect us to, or we have told you we will
  • it is required or authorised by law
  • it will prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to somebody's life or health
  • the disclosure is reasonably necessary for law enforcement, or for the protection of public revenue.

Links to other sites

This website contains links to other websites. The QHRC is not responsible for the content and privacy practices of other websites.

Email

Your email address details will not be added to a mailing list (unless you so request), nor will we disclose these details to third parties without your consent, unless required by law. Email messages may be monitored by our information technology staff for system trouble-shooting and maintenance purposes.

Public records

Email correspondence, blog comments and information provided via webforms can constitute public records and can be retained as required by the Public Records Act 2002 and other relevant legislation.

Personal information

Personal information - complaints

Personal information about complainants, respondents and third parties is obtained in the course of managing a complaint made under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (the AD Act) and the Human Rights Act 2019 (the HR Act)

The QHRC collects personal information for the purposes of determining whether complaints come under the Acts, and if so, to try to resolve them.

If a complaint is covered by the Acts, the QHRC must inform the people and organisations that are the subject of the complaint as soon as possible after receiving it. This will usually include providing the parties with a copy of the complaint and other documents.

For complaints made under the AD Act, if the complaint is resolved by written agreement, the QHRC must file the agreement with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).  If the complaint is referred to QCAT, the QHRC will provide the complaint and other documents to QCAT.

Complaints data, including information about parties and their allegations, may be used for research and to improve service delivery. In using this information, identifying information will remain confidential.

The QHRC may publish a case note based on a complaint, but it will not include names or any identifying information. For unresolved complaints made under the HR Act, the QHRC may publish a report with recommendations for the public entity. The report will not contain names or any identifying information.

Personal information - research, reviews and projects

Personal information is received or collected in the course of conducting research, reviews and projects as part of the QHRC's functions.

The information collected may include a person's name, phone number, email address, demographics, experiences, views and opinions on issues within the scope of the research, review or project. Audio and video recordings may also be collected where prior consent has been given.

The information is collected and used to understand more about the issues, to test and analyse the evidence received, and to inform the development of recommendations, reports and other resources. Unless consent of hte person has been given teh QHRC will not publish the names or identifying details of a person.

Only authorised staff have access to personal information received or collected in the course of conducting research, reviews and projects.

Personal information - general enquiries

People are able to access the QHRC information service to discuss potential complaints they may be able to make under the Act or to make general enquiries.

The information collected will usually include name, contact details and broad demographic information. Provision of the information is voluntary.

The information is collected and used to provide resources to the enquirer and to compile relevant statistics for internal use to improve services and publication (in a de-identified form).

Personal information - training

People contact the QHRC to make enquiries about training and may participate in training courses conducted by the QHRC .

The information collected will usually include name, contact details and employment details about people in connection with training activities. Persons who attend training courses or who contact the QHRC with an enquiry about training are asked to supply personal information that facilitates the conduct of training.

The information is collected and used solely for the purpose of conducting training and improving the training service provided by the QHRC and to compile relevant statistics for internal use and publication (in a de-identified form).

Personal information - CCTV footage (Brisbane office)

People visiting the QHRC premises in Brisbane may be video recorded by way of CCTV. The QHRC makes these recordings to assist with ensuring the safety and security of the premises, staff and other visitors. The CCTV footage is deleted periodically. Queensland Government Security staff responsible for monitoring and maintaining the security of the building may access this footage, as well as the Manager, Corporate Services. A copy may be provided to the Queensland Police Service for the purpose of assessing or investigation the possible commission of an offense.

Personal information - human resource management

Personal information about our staff is received or collected in the course of conducting human resource management functions.

Employee records may consist of personnel, payroll, recruitment, performance appraisal and other records. The information collected may include name, date of birth, occupation, address, next of kin, medical information, relationship details, details of pay and allowances, disciplinary investigations and records of IT system usage.

The information is used for the QHRC 's internal human resource management functions including assessing whether staff are complying with policies and procedures. It is also used to protect the QHRC IT systems and maintain computer and network system performance and security.

The information is available to the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Manager Corporate Services, Managers with relevant supervisory responsibilities and staff with relevant HR responsibilities. The QHRC 's IT officers and consultants may have access to information concerning internet and email usage and security.

Personal information - recruitment

Personal information about potential employees is received or collected in the course recruitment .

Recruitment records may consist of applications for employment with the QHRC, records relating to referee checks, interview notes and selection panel assessments.

The information is collected and used solely for the purpose of selecting employees. It may be accessed by staff appointed to sit on selection panels, the delegate responsible for approving appointments and any officer assisting with the administrative functions associated with staff recruitment.

Applications for employment may be disclosed to third parties forming part of a selection panel. Relevant details about a person's application may be disclosed to a person's nominated referees in the event their application warrants a referee check. Information about the selection panel's assessment of the successful applicant may be disclosed to other applicants as part of a feedback process, but otherwise this information is not further disclosed without the consent of the individual.

Accessing or amending your personal information

Visit our page on accessing information to find out how to access or amend your personal information.

Making a privacy complaint

If you believe that we have not handled your personal information in accordance with the IP Act, you may make a complaint to us.  For information on how to make a complaint, and how your complaint will be handled, refer to our Resolving Client Service Factsheet.  These can be found on the Service Feedback page.

If you have any questions, you should contact the Privacy Contact Officer using the contact details provided in the 'Accessing or amending your personal information' section of this page.

If you do not agree with our response, or you have not received a response from us after 45 days, you may make a complaint in writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner.  Access more information on the Information Commissioner's privacy complaints process.