PRIVACY, DIGNITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

The aim of the policy is to ensure that all Esperance Care Services (ECS) staff, volunteers and clients are treated with privacy, dignity and respect. ECS recognises that all people have the right to expect that they will be treated courteously, with dignity and respect; that their personal information will be protected by complying with national privacy legislation regarding the collection, use and disclosure of their private information, and that their personal information will be kept confidential.

Esperance Care Services strives to act with the highest integrity and offer the best possible service to volunteers, organisations and other people who access our services. To provide the highest standard of service to all its stakeholders, from time to time ECS needs to collect some personal information. The information entrusted to ECS is treated with the appropriate and respectful degree of privacy.

Personal information is any information from which an individual’s identity can be reasonably determined.

The policy has been framed around the individuals' rights as they are specified in the Privacy Act (2000), the Freedom of Information Act (1982) Australian Privacy Act 2014), Disability Services Act (1993) and Standard 4 of the Disability Services Standards (1993) and the Principles of Volunteering. This policy applies to prospective, current and past staff (including volunteers), clients and customers of the ECS, and all ECS programs and activities.

The purpose of this policy is to establish standards of privacy, dignity and confidentiality in the organisation's dealings with staff, volunteers and prospective, current and former users of the organisation's services. The policy has been framed around individuals' rights as they are specified in the Privacy Act (2000), Freedom of Information Act (1982), Disability Services Act (1993) and Standard 4 of the Disability Services Standards (1993) and the Principles of Volunteering (National Standards of Volunteering).

This policy applies to all of the organisation's programs and activities.

To ensure all individuals and organisations have the same level of privacy, dignity and confidentiality as is expected by the rest of the community.

Esperance Care Services will:

  1. Only collect information about the individual that can be shown to be directly relevant to effective service delivery and ECS’s duty of care responsibilities.
  2. Seek written informed consent of the individual prior to obtaining information to any other source.
  3. Seek the written informed consent of the staff, volunteers and client prior to releasing information to any other source.
  4. Release information to an individual only after receiving a request to view his or her own records in writing.
  5. Ensure that personal information is stored securely and is not left on view to unauthorized staff or the general public.
  6. Ensure that only the staff that require access to the above information will be granted access.
  7. Ensure information on individuals, including staff members and clients is not discussed outside ECS, unless relating directly to the business of ECS.
  8. Promptly investigate, remedy and document any customer grievance regarding privacy, dignity or confidentiality.

Esperance Care Services will:

  1. Only collect information about the staff, volunteers and client that can be shown to be directly relevant to effective service delivery and the organisation's duty of care responsibilities.
  2. Seek the written informed consent of the staff, volunteers and clients prior to obtaining information from any other source.
  3. Seek the written informed consent of the staff, volunteers and client prior to releasing information to any other source.
  4. Ensure that personal information is stored securely and is not left on view to unauthorised organisation staff or the general public.
  5. Ensure that only those organisation staff who need access to the above information will be granted access.
  6. Advise the staff, volunteers and client of the nature of the personal information that is held by the organisation about them.
  7. Advise the staff, volunteers and client of their right to view the information that the organisation keeps in respect of them.
  8. Ensure that personal information about the individual is only held by the organisation as long as it is remains relevant to the delivery of effective services and the agency's duty of care obligations.
  9. Promptly investigate, remedy and document any consumer grievance regarding privacy, dignity or confidentiality.

 

Organisation Confidentiality

Except when expressly authorised by Esperance Care Services, staff will not directly or indirectly reveal or cause to be revealed to any third party any confidential dealings, finances, transactions or affairs of ECS or any of its volunteers, clients or customers which may come to their knowledge during their period of employment or volunteering.

Staff will not, unless expressly authorised by Esperance Care Services, use for their own benefit or gain or that of any other person, firm or company, any confidential information belonging to ECS.

Any changes, innovations and ideas initiated by staff in the course of working or volunteering with ECS will belong to ECS.

Staff will not disclose confidential information to any other staff member not authorised to receive such information.

A staff member’s obligation in these matters continues to apply after the termination of their role without limits in time.