National Disability Insurance Scheme / Disability Employment Services Pathways Pilot – Privacy Collection Notice

An Easy Read version of the privacy notice is available.

The Department of Social Services (Department, we, us, our), collects personal information about individuals for a range of purposes to enable it to carry out its functions. More information about how we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy.

We will collect, or have already collected, your information (including any personal information) for one or more of the above purposes. This notice is designed to ensure you are aware of the purpose and certain matters in relation to that collection, as required by the Privacy Act.

Your personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

This privacy collection notice is designed to ensure you are aware of certain matters in relation to the department’s collection of your personal information, as required by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

What is the purpose of the collection?

The department is currently inviting participants to register and to provide their views on a Pilot to improve pathways into the Disability Employment Services (DES) program for those without mutual obligations, such as some recipients of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. The Department is also interested in the experience and views of LAC partners and DES providers who participate in the Pilot.

The decision to undertake the Pilot acknowledges that the pathway into DES for NDIS participants who do not have mutual obligations is difficult to navigate. Many NDIS participants with work aspirations find it challenging to access employment services at the right time. NDIS participants who have the highest support needs are not usually obligated to engage with employment services (including DES) and are often left to navigate these systems on their own.

The NDIS/DES Pathways Pilot (the Pilot) will provide Government with a stronger understanding of ‘what works’ for NDIS participants without mutual obligations to seek and engage in employment. This will contribute to disability employment reforms.

We are looking at ways we can improve the experience of NDIS participants, without mutual obligations, to look for and find work with the support of a DES provider. Your Local NDIS Area Coordinator (LAC) partner may have already given you some information of the Pilot but here is some further detail:

  • you will work with your DES provider at your pace.
  • you have choice about when you meet with your provider and the types of activities you undertake
  • the more you engage with your DES provider the better the likelihood they will help you find a good job-match.

If you choose to participate in the Pilot, you may be asked to participate in a number of surveys during the Pilot. The department’s intention is to understand your experience of the Pilot, including what went well and what could be improved. If you are a LAC partner or DES provider, you may also be asked to participant in a number of surveys during the Pilot.

What is ‘personal information’ and ‘sensitive information’?

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information. It includes information or an opinion about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of associations or unions, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, or health, genetic or biometric information.

What we collect

Through your participation in the Pilot, we may collect a range of personal information, some of which could be sensitive information.

The personal information we will require includes your:

  • name, address and postcode, email address, date of birth and
  • views on your experience in the new employment pathway under the Pilot as well as what worked or did not work.

The personal information we will ask for, but is optional to provide, includes:

  • age bracket
  • gender
  • Indigenous status
  • disability status
  • Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (CALD) status
  • LGBTIQA+ status.

We may also collect personal information from you:

  • if you include the personal information in your responses to the survey questions, and
  • if you complete the survey and registration forms by an alternative method (such as by emailing us a completed copy of documents).

How we collect your information

Your personal information relating to your personal views will be collected if you choose to participate in the survey. We will do this by:

  • Collecting information from your responses to the Web Survey Creator, and
  • Collecting information from you directly through the Employment Services System (ESS)web.

The survey is anonymous however, where we are able to identify you (or reasonably identify you) from your registration and survey response, we will handle your response in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) as it will be ‘personal information’.

Why we collect your personal information

Your personal information is collected for the purposes of:

  • participating in the survey
  • receiving information regarding the Pilot
  • to inform improvements to employment pathways for people with disability who are volunteers, this includes providing Government with a stronger understanding of ‘what works’ for NDIS participants without mutual obligations to seek and engage in the development of employment policy.

If you do not provide your personal information (including sensitive information), we will not be able to consider your views as part of our policy development and participation in the Pilot.

Some of the information collected by us from our targeted or public consultations or registration or surveys has research value in developing policies that extend beyond the specific consultation, registration or survey for which it was originally collected. Where this is the case, the information that we collect from consultation, registration or surveys may be used for our other research purposes. In doing so, we will apply the Australian Privacy Principles to the handling of any personal information.

Who we disclose your personal information to

We may disclose your personal information to the following people, organisations or third parties:

  • Any information collected in ESS will be used to confirm your participation in Pilot to your DES service provider and LAC partner.
  • other parties where the disclosure is authorised by law.

All entities contracted by us are subject to strict confidentiality, privacy and security obligations.

No information about you will be disclosed overseas.

Storage of your personal information

Storage of personal information (and the disposal of information when no longer required) is managed in accordance with the Australian Government records management regime, including the Archives Act 1983, agency-specific records authorities and general records authorities. This ensures your personal information is held securely by the Department.

All personal information collected by the Department is stored on Services Australia’s cloud storage, on servers located in Australia. Services Australia and the Department retains effective control over any personal information held on our cloud, and the information is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Any information disclosed to third parties will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and stored in accordance with agreed security protocols.

More information

More information about how we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy contains more information about how you can access any personal information that we hold, and how to seek correction of that personal information. It also contains information about how to make a complaint about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, as set out in the Privacy Act. If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact us at complaints@dss.gov.au.

Confirmation and consent

This section only applies if you are providing sensitive information as part of your consultation response, registration response or survey response. Please note that you do not need to provide your sensitive information if you do not wish to do so.

By providing your sensitive information as part of your Consultation response, registration response or survey response, you consent to the department collecting your sensitive information and handling your sensitive information in accordance with this privacy notice.

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