The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) outlined in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) which regulate how entities may collect, use, disclose and store personal information. The NDIS Commission is also bound by the information management provisions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (the NDIS Act). These provide that if the NDIS Commission holds information about a person in its records then that information is regarded as “protected Commission information” under the NDIS Act. An example of protected Commission information is information about a worker on the NDIS Worker Screening Database. Unauthorised use and disclosure of protected Commission information by any person is a criminal offence under the NDIS Act. Collection of your personal information As a self-managed participant or an unregistered provider, you need the approval of the NDIS Commission to access the NDIS Worker Screening Database. By completing this form, you are applying to be a registered user of the NDIS Worker Screening Database which will enable you to access it. If your application is approved, you will be issued with an ID number to be used for the purposes of the NDIS Worker Screening Database. The NDIS Commission will collect information from you on this form including personal information such as names, date of birth, email addresses and phone numbers. The NDIS Commission is collecting your personal information for the purposes of: •assessing whether you are eligible to access the NDIS Worker Screening Database; •communicating with you about:
â—¦the application â—¦the NDIS Worker Screening Database â—¦matters which are of interest or relevance to employers of NDIS workers such as updates or available education, training or resources
•exercising the NDIS Commissioner’s functions in relation to the NDIS Worker Screening Database
•exercising the NDIS Commissioner‘s other functions under the NDIS Act including communicating with you in the exercise of those functions If you do not provide us with the personal information sought in this form, the NDIS Commission may not be able to assess your application to access the NDIS Worker Screening Database. If your application to access the NDIS Worker Screening Database is approved, the NDIS Commission will provide some of the personal information to the Worker Screening Units in the Australian states and territories participating in the NDIS Worker Screening Check. The information which will be provided is: •If you are an unregistered provider: the name of your entity as set out in your application form which may be your personal name if you are a sole trader, your business details and your ID number issued to you by the NDIS Commission; and •If you are a self-managed participant: your last name and your ID number issued to you by the NDIS Commission.
The above information will be disclosed to assist the Worker Screening Units to update their records of NDIS employers. This will enable potential workers you have identified to search for your details on the State or Territory worker screening records and link to you as their employer. Potential workers will need to do this as part of the process of undergoing a NDIS Worker Screening Check. The above information may be available to any person in the course of their search for NDIS employers in the State or Territory worker screening records. For example, the information may be shown in a drop-down list of NDIS employers or included in the search results when a person searches for an NDIS employer by name. The NDIS Commission may also use and disclose some or all of the information collected from you for the purposes of the NDIS Act including disclosing it to the National Disability Insurance Agency (the NDIA) for the purposes of research and policy development in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIS Commission may also use or disclose some or all of the information collected from you for the purposes of performing the functions of the NDIS Commissioner under the NDIS Act which do not relate to the NDIS Worker Screening Database such as the complaints function or the reportable incidents function. Personal information obtained will only be used and disclosed for the purposes and in the circumstances outlined above and will not be used or disclosed without your consent for any other purpose or in other circumstances, except as authorised under the Privacy Act or where authorised or required by law, including by the NDIS Act. Personal Information obtained will be stored and held in accordance with the NDIS Commission’s obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Archives Act 1983 (Cth). The NDIS Commission’s Privacy Policy contains information about how you may access and seek correction of your personal information and how you may complain about a breach of the APPs.