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Case Citation:

I v Commonwealth Agency 2010 PrivCmrA 10

Subject Heading:

Disclosure of personal information and implied consent

Law:

Information Privacy Principle 11 in Part III Division 2 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

The following case was decided by the Privacy Commissioner prior to 1 November 2010. On 1 November 2010 all the powers of the Privacy Commissioner under the Privacy Act were conferred on the Australian Information Commissioner. A reference to a thing done by the Privacy Commissioner before this date should be taken to have been done by the Information Commissioner.

Facts:

The complainant met with their State Member of Parliament's (MP) office to raise some issues about dealings with an Australian Government agency.  In the course of this meeting, the complainant provided the MP's office with copies of correspondence between the agency and themself.

The MP's office contacted the agency on the complainant's behalf and requested some additional information relating to the complainant.  The agency provided the requested information to the MP's office.  The complainant subsequently alleged that the agency had improperly disclosed their personal information to the MP's office.

Issues:

IPP 11 prohibits agencies from disclosing personal information to anyone other than the individual concerned, unless one or more of certain exceptions apply.  These include IPP 11.1(b), where the individual concerned has consented to the disclosure.

Outcome:

The Privacy Commissioner was satisfied that the complainant, in having the MP's office make representations on their behalf, impliedly consented to the disclosure of their personal information by the agency to the MP's office.  

The Commissioner's approach to this complaint is consistent with the  Office's Provision of personal information by Commonwealth agencies to Members of Parliament: Guidelines, which state that an agency may provide personal information to a Member of Parliament or his or her staff in response to an enquiry on behalf of a constituent, where the officer handling the enquiry is satisfied as to the identity of the enquirer.

As such, the Privacy Commissioner formed the view that the disclosure by the agency was permitted under IPP 11.1(b).  

The Privacy Commissioner was satisfied that the agency had not interfered with the complainant's privacy and decided not to investigate the matter, under section 41(1)(a) of the Privacy Act.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
December 2010