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GENERAL INFORMATION

The University is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). As a result, the University must comply with the 11 Information Privacy Principles prescribed by the Act. In order to assist staff to meet the requirements of the Act and these principles, the University has a policy on privacy called Statement on the Collection, Use and Control of Personal Information.
The Australian Privacy Commissioner has prepared guidelines to the information privacy principles which may be a useful reference if you are seeking clarification of any issues in relation to these principles:

Guidelines to Information Privacy Principles

Further information regarding privacy can be obtained by visiting the Australian Privacy Commissioner's web site or by contacting Michael Haines, the University's Privacy Officer, by email or via the Legal Office:

T: (02) 6125 8489
F: (02) 6125 0683

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I am a lecturer/administrative staff member and a student has approached me with information about their disability, which is affecting their studies. Can i inform the student's other lecturers?

A student has requested an extension on an assignment based on medical grounds. The student is registered with the Disability Services Unit (DSU), and has been provided a letter by DSU supporting the request for an extension. Can I ask for more detailed medical documentation to support the application?

One of my students is being disruptive in tutorials/lectures. Can I discuss this matter with a colleague?

A student’s parent/family member has contacted me to request information about the progress of their child’s studies. Can I provide the parent with this information?

A real estate agent/bank/credit provider/debt collector has contacted me to request information about a student or staff member’s contact details or other personal information (i.e. salary, length of service). Can I provide this information?

I have been asked by a colleague/student to be a referee. I have information about their health or personal life, which the prospective employer might be interested in. Can I provide this information?

I think one of my students is at risk of serious and imminent threat to their health or life. Can I disclose this information?

A student has approached me with a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a staff member in my faculty/school/centre. Who can I discuss this matter with and how should this complaint be handled?

I am a lecturer/administrative staff member and a student has approached me with information about their disability, which is affecting their studies. Can I inform the student’s other lecturers?

No. A student’s medical information should not be disclosed without the student’s consent, unless there is an imminent risk of harm to the life or health of the student concerned or another person, or where the disclosure is required by law (for example, via a court subpoena).

If a student approaches you with information about a disability they should be referred to the Disability Services Unit (DSU) http://www.anu.edu.au/disabilities/ who will, upon the student’s registration, assess whether any reasonable adjustments are needed to accommodate the student’s disability and facilitate the necessary adjustments to be made to the student’s participation and assessment within a course.

You can also speak with the DSU about the student and the medical issue they raised, or take it up with a responsible officer in your faculty or school.

The student could also be made aware of the counselling services offered by the University to students via the University Counselling Centre http://www.anu.edu.au/counsel/index.php

The University’s Disclosure of Information by Students with a Disability or Illness Policy (20020493) may also provide guidance http://info.anu.edu.au/Policies/_DVC/Policies/Disclosure_of_Information_by_Students_with_a_Disability_or_Illness.asp

Another useful resource is the Regional Disability Liaison Officer’s webpage entitled, “Choosing Your Path, Disclosure: It’s a Personal Decision” which provides useful information to staff and students in the tertiary sector: http://sites.uws.edu.au/rdlo/disclosure/

Not really. Disclosure of detailed medical information is sometimes quite a sensitive issue, and students may choose to limit the disclosure of information about their illness or disability. The available medical documentation may also include other sensitive personal information that is not relevant to the particular ‘adjustment’ (i.e. extension) being requested. Services such as the DSU, the Counselling Centre and the University Health Service have experience and skills in assessing medical documentation and conditions, may have a more detailed knowledge of the student's medical condition or disability(s) and have strict guidelines for making recommendations for academic adjustments. It is appropriate to rely on the knowledge and expertise of these specialist services in making decisions about whether to make academic adjustments.

If you have any concerns about the recommendations, or would like to clarify any issue associated with the circumstances and appropriateness of the recommended adjustment, the most appropriate course of action would be to inform the student that you would like to clarify some points with the person recommending the adjustment (i.e. DSU or other party), and ask for their written consent to contact the person concerned before making the final decision. It is likely that the person recommending the adjustment will require a copy of the consent, before they discuss this issue with you.

One of my students is being disruptive in tutorials/lectures. Can I discuss this matter with a colleague?

You may discuss a student’s disruptive behaviour with other colleagues (who may or may not teach the particular student) for the purpose of formulating a course of action to deal with the student’s behaviour. This may involve the disclosure of the student’s identity and information in order to adequately address the situation. Such disclosure should be exercised with discretion and in a professional manner, directly related to the resolution of the disruptive situation, preferably also involving your Head of School, Dean or Director.

It is also important to remember that a student’s disruptive behaviour may be associated with a disability. Whilst disability or illness does not excuse disruptive behaviour or make it acceptable, it may provide some understanding of potential causes and influence the strategies used to address the behaviour as well which support services it may be appropriate to involve.

When addressing these types of disruptive situations these areas of the University, in addition to your faculty/school, can be consulted for advice and support. In some cases, they will be able to discuss and coordinate a response with your area:

The Adviser to Staff (who provides professional counselling and advice to all staff, on work-related or personal matters).
Human Resources Division (will refer staff to the appropriate services available on campus and will follow up on employment/stress related issues);
The Counselling Centre (which can provide practical guidance and assistance in dealing with distressed and/or disruptive students);
The Disability Services Unit (as a contact point for students with disabilities and liaison with a student’s faculty/school/centre);
The Director of Student and Academic Services (to assist in the facilitation of specific measures to address particular disruptive students (particularly where the student is enrolled in more than one area of the University)); and
The Legal Office (which can provide practical guidance in dealing with the legal issues associated with privacy and disability);

Disclosure is also permitted to other staff or persons where there is an imminent risk of harm to the health, safety and welfare to the student or another person, and the disclosure is directed to addressing or minimising that imminent risk. For example, notifying your Dean or Director, ANU Security and/or University Counselling Centre, or in an extreme situation, the police.

The same procedures can be followed where a student is being disruptive or difficult with administrative staff in a faculty/school/centre. In such cases, the Head of School, Dean or Director would be the recommended first point of contact. Some faculties/schools or centres may have designated personnel who can be consulted in this type of situation.

A student’s parent/family member has contacted me to request information about the progress of their child’s studies. Can I provide the parent with this information?

No. The University must not disclose personal information about a student (for example, course marks and attendance) to any person, including a parent, without the prior consent of the student.

The best course is to explain to the person requesting the information that you could speak with them if you had the consent of the student (preferably provided in writing).

There are limited exceptions to this rule. Disclosure is permitted:

where the information may be necessary to prevent or lessen a threat of death or injury to the student or someone else; or
if the University is required to disclose the information by law.

Examples of disclosure required by law to third parties, including parents, may include:

where the individual gives their express consent;
where the disclosure is to a law enforcement agency to locate a person who has been reported as missing to the police;
where the disclosure is reasonably necessary in order to investigate an offence where there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed;
where the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the protection of the public revenue (i.e. Centrelink, ATO etc.);
where the disclosure is made in connection with proceedings for an offence or for law enforcement purposes;
where the disclosure is authorised by a subpoena, search warrant or statutory instrument.

If you believe one of the above exceptions apply you should seek immediate advice and approval from your Head of School/Faculty prior to disclosure and consult the Privacy Officer or Legal Office.

No. Prior consent from the student or staff member concerned is required before the University can disclose personal information about them to any person (i.e. bank, debt collector). Written consent of the student or staff member is recommended before making this type of disclosure.

I have been asked by a colleague/student to be a referee. I have information about their health or personal life, which the prospective employer might be interested in. Can I provide this information?

Providing health or personal information about a colleague/student to a prospective employer will breach the colleague’s/student’s personal privacy, unless consent has been obtained. It is best to discuss with the subject of the reference what information you are expected to give to the prospective employer.

When providing a referee report it is important to only disclose information about the colleague/student that is within the colleague’s/student’s reasonable expectations (i.e. information that relates to their skills, work experience and personal attributes relevant to the job description), and relevant to the job description needs. It is important not to mislead the person to whom you are providing a reference, hence if you are uncomfortable not disclosing particular information to the prospective employer, it is best not to volunteer to be a referee.

I think one of my students is at risk of serious and imminent threat to their health or life. Can I disclose this information?

Yes. Where you consider there is a serious and imminent risk to the life or health of a student you should refer the matter to your Dean or Head of School/Faculty/Centre or if you believe there is no time to do so, seek the immediate advice of the Head of the Counselling Centre or ANU Security to ensure that the University acts quickly and appropriately.

A student has approached me with a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a staff member in my faculty/school/centre. Who can I discuss this matter with and how should this complaint be handled?

The University will not proceed with an entirely anonymous complaint. Despite this, the identity of the student can be restricted as appropriate. In this case, the identity of the student might only be disclosed to the staff member’s supervisor in the first instance, or the Dean/Director or Head of School/Centre/Faculty or other staff member(s) with the delegated responsibility to handle formal staff misconduct proceedings (i.e. an Associate Dean or Deputy Director etc.)
You should not disclose the identity of the student to the staff member to whom the complaint relates, without the consent of the student.
The resolution of such complaints should be in accordance with the procedures outlined in the University’s Grievance Procedures and Guidelines, or alternatively, the current Enterprise Agreement, and guided by the principles outlined in the University’s Code of Conduct. The Equity and Diversity Unit and the Adviser to Staff are useful reference points when dealing with staff and student grievances.
It is also important to maintain the staff member’s confidentiality, in addition to the student’s, when dealing with a complaint under this category.