About / Privacy

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Introduction

As a NSW Public Service agency, the Office of the Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (Commission) is bound by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP Act) and Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (HRIP Act) in the handling of personal information and health information. This legislation contains various privacy principles that govern the way in which the Commission will collect, store, use and disclose your personal information and health information.

This Privacy Statement sets out your rights and entitlements, as well as detailing the way in which the Commission will manage your personal information and health information. The Commission is dedicated to the professional and responsible management of the personal information and health information of all greyhound racing industry participants and others we come in contact with.


How we protect your personal information

What is your personal information?

Your personal information includes any information or opinion about you, and where that information or opinion:

  • identifies you; or
  • your identity can reasonably be ascertained from that information or opinion.

Common examples of personal information include:

  • your name;
  • your address;
  • your contact details, including telephone number and/or email address;
  • your date of birth;
  • your driver's licence details; and
  • your bank account details and/or credit card details.

Some information and opinions about you are not personal information. Some examples of information and opinions that are not personal information include:

  • information about you that is contained in a publicly available publication;
  • information about you that has been obtained for the purposes of determining your suitability for employment with the Commission (or any other NSW government sector agency);
  • information about you that may have arisen from a Royal Commission or Special Commission of Inquiry; or
  • information about you that is contained in a State record that is available for public inspection.
What personal information does the Commission collect?

The Commission will most often be required to collect your personal information for the purposes of processing any application for registration. The personal information that is collected when you apply for registration as a greyhound racing industry participant, or you otherwise seek to register a greyhound or trial track, is all set out within the Commission's registration forms. The personal information we collect will be supplied by you in your completed registration form or other documents you supply to us.

The Commission requires this personal information in order to process your application for registration. You are not obliged to provide any personal information to the Commission; however, if you do not provide the Commission with all of the information required, this may result in your application for registration being rejected.

There may be other occasions where the Commission collects your personal information. They include (but are not limited to):

  • in the investigation of complaints;
  • in the implementation of disciplinary action;
  • in the conduct of inquiries;
  • if you contact the Commission with any enquiry or complaint;
  • in receiving and processing any application for internal review that you may make; and/or
  • as part of an information sharing arrangement between the Commission and the NSW Police Force, animal welfare bodies and/or local councils, for the purposes of discharging the Commission's functions.

While the Commission endeavours to obtain your personal information from you directly, there will be occasions where the Commission obtains your personal information from third party agencies. Where you seek to be registered as a greyhound racing industry participant, or seek to register a greyhound or trial track, you consent to the Commission collecting your personal information from other agencies or entities for the purposes of processing your application for registration, or for any of the reasons set out in the bullet points above. The Commission is not required to collect your personal information from you when it is exercising its complaint handling or investigative functions.

The Commission only collects your personal information where it is reasonably necessary in order for the Commission to perform its functions and discharge its obligations as the agency responsible for promoting and protecting the welfare of greyhounds and safeguarding the integrity of greyhound racing and betting.

How does the Commission store your personal information?

Your personal information will be stored electronically on a secure database.

Any hard copy documents or records containing your personal information will be securely stored and retained on the Commission's premises.

The Commission is required to maintain its records, including any records containing your personal information, in accordance with its obligations under the State Records Act 1998. Subject to the Commission's compliance with those obligations, the Commission will only hold your personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary, and where disposal of your personal information is lawfully authorised, the Commission will do so in a secure way.

The Commission understands that your personal information is important to you. For that reason, the Commission has safeguards in place to ensure that your personal information is stored in a secure manner and protected against loss, unauthorised access or any form of misuse. In the unlikely event that the Commission becomes aware of a security breach that threatens your personal information, the Commission will notify you as soon as practicable.

How does the Commission use your personal information?

To the extent that the Commission predominantly collects personal information for the purposes of processing applications for registration, the Commission will use personal information supplied on application forms for that same purpose. To the extent that you provide the Commission with your personal information with your application form seeking registration, you consent to the Commission using your personal information to process your application or any other purpose consistent with the Commission's discharge of its statutory functions of promoting and protecting the welfare of greyhounds and safeguarding the integrity of greyhound racing and betting.

In all other circumstances, the Commission will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, or any directly related purpose. In the event that there is a serious and imminent threat to your health, or the health of another person, these will be exceptional circumstances in which the Commission may also use your personal information.

If the Commission is proposing to use your personal information, and we have any reason to believe that your personal information may have changed or be out of date, we may contact you to ensure that your personal information that we hold remains relevant, accurate, up to date, complete and is not misleading.

Who will the Commission disclose my personal information to and why?

The Commission will need to disclose your personal information to other agencies from time to time. In order to process any application for registration, the Commission may be required to disclose your personal information to various agencies, including (but not limited to):

  • law enforcement agencies, including (but not limited to) the NSW Police Force;
  • animal welfare agencies, including (but not limited to) the RSPCA; and
  • local councils.

The Commission may need to do this in order to establish that you are a fit and proper person to be registered, or to otherwise meet obligations imposed on the Commission by the Greyhound Racing Act 2017.

The Commission does not maintain a public register of greyhounds, trial tracks, or greyhound racing industry participants.

To the extent that the Commission discloses your personal information to any NSW government agency, they will also be bound to collect, store and use your personal information in accordance with the PPIP Act. To the extent that the Commission discloses your personal information to any other entity, it is expected that they will comply with the requirements set out within the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

The Commission may also be required to disclose your personal information to Commonwealth agencies for the purposes of processing your application for registration. Those Commonwealth agencies are also bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which imposes similar obligations to those imposed on the Commission under the PPIP Act.

The Commission may otherwise need to disclose your personal information to a third party agency or entity for reasons that are directly related to the reason for which it was collected, or otherwise in order to discharge the Commission's statutory functions of promoting and protecting the welfare of greyhounds and safeguarding the integrity of greyhound racing and betting. The Commission will only disclose your personal information to a third party agency or entity where it is necessary to do so in the performance of the Commission's statutory functions.

In the event that there is a serious and imminent threat to your health, or the health of another person, these will be exceptional circumstances in which the Commission may also disclose your personal information.

What are my rights and entitlements?

You have rights and entitlements regarding the personal information held by the Commission. In particular, you have a right to:

  • ask the Commission if we hold your personal information and, if we do, the nature of the information, the main purposes for which it is used and your entitlement to access that information;
  • access your personal information that is held by the Commission on request;
  • ask the Commission to amend your personal information by way of addition, correction or deletion, to ensure that your personal information that we hold is accurate and, with reference to how your personal information is used, also relevant, up to date, complete and not misleading;
  • make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner or to the Commission about an alleged contravention of your privacy;
  • seek internal review from the Commission if you are aggrieved by our conduct in regards to our collection, storage, use or disclosure of your personal information; and
  • seek administrative review from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in regards to any internal review decision made by the Commission.

Any complaints can be sent to the Commission or to the Office of the Privacy Commission. The contact details for both are set out below.


How we protect your health information

What is your health information?

Your health information includes information or an opinion about your physical or mental health, your express wishes about the future provision of health services to you, or health services provided, or to be provided, to you.

What health information does the Commission collect?

The Commission will not ordinarily collect, use or disclose health information. The Commission will only collect health information from you in exceptional circumstances (for example, where it may be relevant to your application for registration). If the Commission does collect your health information, it will comply with the HRIP Act in undertaking that collection.

How does the Commission store your health information?

To the extent that the Commission collects any health information about you, it will be safely and securely stored consistently with the manner in which we store your personal information.

How does the Commission use your health information?

If the Commission needs to collect your health information, we will explain to you why we are collecting it and the purposes for which it will be used. The Commission will otherwise comply with the HRIP Act in using any of your health information.

Who will the Commission disclose my health information to and why?

If the Commission needs to collect your health information, we will explain to you whether or not it will need to be disclosed to any other person, agency or entity, and if so, why that disclosure is necessary. The Commission will otherwise comply with the HRIP Act in disclosing any of your health information.

What are my rights and entitlements?

You have the same rights and entitlements in regards to your health information as your personal information, as set out above.


Questions

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, or about the Commission's handling of your personal information or health information, please contact us at:

Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission
PO Box 718
Bathurst NSW 2795
(T): 13 49 42
(F): (02) 9199 8313
(E): emailus@gwic.nsw.gov.au

Alternatively, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
GPO Box 7011
Sydney NSW 2001
(T): 1800 472 679
(E): ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au


Links

Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal – Privacy of personal information


Review

The PPIP Act, HRIP Act and any Code of Practice implemented by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, that applies to the Commission, all prevail to the extent of any inconsistency with the content of this privacy statement.

This privacy statement is reviewed annually by the Commission.