Disability Standards Policy 

1.2 Privacy

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Drafted:  Embrace Support Coordination 2024

Name of Reviewer:  Alison Charpentier

Website Owner: This website address is www.embracesc.com.au. The owner and website manager is the Trustee of Elevate Trust, trading as Embrace Support Coordination registered to trade under Australian Business Number 94 458 491 670.

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1.   Purpose and Scope:

 

The purpose of this policy is to establish standards of practice that recognise and respect the privacy of current and past people who access the Embrace Support Coordination services. The policy has been framed around individuals’ rights as they are specified in the Privacy Act (1988), Freedom of Information Act (1982), The Disability Services Act (1993), and Standard 1 of the National Standards for Disability Services (2013). 

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2.   Policy Statement – PRIVACY:

 

Embrace Support Coordination is committed to ensuring that all people with a disability and families/carers have the same level of privacy as is expected by the general community.

 

3.   Procedures:

 

Embrace Support Coordination will;

 

3.1   Provide services in ways that ensure privacy.

 

3.2   Only collect information about the person with a disability that can be shown to be directly relevant to effective service delivery and the services duty of care and responsibilities.

 

3.3   Ensure that personal information is stored securely and is not left on view to others.

 

3.4   Advise the person with a disability and family of the content of the information that is held by the service and who it may be shared with.

 

3.5   Advise the person with a disability and family/carer of their right to request the information that Embrace Support Coordination keeps in respect of the person with a disability.

 

3.6   Ensure that personal information about a person with a disability is only held by Embrace Support Coordination as long as it remains relevant to the delivery of effective services and Embrace Support Coordination’s duty of care obligations.

 

3.7   Ensure that personal information is destroyed safely seven years following exit from the service or seven years from the 18th birthday for children/young adults.

 

3.8   Promptly investigate, remedy and document any consumer grievance regarding privacy.

 

4.   Performance Standards:

 

The following performance standards will be met to ensure that the procedures specified are implemented effectively:

 

4.1   All persons accessing the services are informed of our Policy on Privacy and are offered the Privacy brochure.

 

4.2   Feedback from people with a disability and family/carers demonstrates that they feel their privacy is respected by service personnel.

 

4.3   The person with a disability and their family members will be informed about why the information sought on our referral form is necessary.

 

4.4   Personal files are periodically reviewed to ensure that personal information is current. Information that is no longer relevant, i.e. the person has been exited from the service, will be securely stored for seven years before being safely destroyed. Children’s files are stored for seven years post the eighteenth birthday before being destroyed.

 

4.5   Any grievances related to privacy and confidentiality will be addressed as outlined in the Feedback and Complaints Policy.

 

5.   Review of the Policy:

 

This policy will be reviewed on a two-yearly basis. However, if at any time the legislative, policy, or funding environment is so altered that the policy is no longer appropriate in its current form, the policy will be reviewed immediately and amended accordingly.