Defence must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988, which govern the handling of personal information. The following privacy notice is provided in accordance with APP 5.
Defence is responsible for all personal information collected under the Privacy Act for the management and determination of eligibility for claims made under the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme.
The personal information collected by Defence includes, but is not limited to:
- personal particulars of the individual (name)
- contact details of the individual such as address or email
- details of any representative, including their name and contact details
- particular circumstances of the individual, such as living arrangements and work status relating to their claim
- details of the claim incident, including if the claim relates to an unlawful killing, the eligible recipient’s relationship to, and level of dependency on, the deceased.
Generally this information will be collected directly from the individual or their appointed representative. When providing personal information for any other person (including a family member) please ensure that they understand their personal information has been provided and how this information will be managed.
The collection by Defence of personal information about claims relating to the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme is authorised by law, under the Defence (Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme) Regulations 2024, which is assisted by individuals providing information.
Defence collects this personal information about individuals to:
- manage, and assess claims made under the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme
- refer matters to the Afghanistan Compensation Advocate
- respond to matters arising from requests or submissions received about the determination of claims made under the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme.
- assess, investigate, resolve and response to complaints, including those brought to external bodies, such as the Defence Ombudsman, Inspector-General, Australian Defence Force, Human Rights Commission or the Office of the Australian Information Commission.
If an individual’s information is not collected, the claim may not be able to be properly assessed and a referral to the Afghanistan Compensation Advocate may not be able to be made in order for the claim to be determined
Use and disclosure of personal information
Situations may arise throughout the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme claim process, where Defence may need to disclose personal information about individuals to other areas within Defence and/or to third parties.
Individual information will be used within Defence and matters will be referred to the Afghanistan Compensation Advocate as part of the determination process.
Defence uses and discloses personal information that it holds about the individual in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Third parties where Defence may disclose personal information includes:
- Ministers in the Defence Portfolio
- to Commonwealth agencies, for example Department of Foreign Affairs
- Australian security and intelligence agencies
- other government officials (including for example community representatives)
- law enforcement bodies
- external review bodies, such as Defence Ombudsman or Australian National Audit Office
- legal providers
- subject matter experts (eg. interpreters, cultural experts, lawyers).
Cross-border disclosure
Personal information about the individual may need to be disclosed by Defence to persons, bodies or entities outside of Australia.
This will be assessed on a case by case basis. Individuals will be contacted prior to any cross-border disclosure by Defence.
Complaints, corrections and access
Defence must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988, which govern the handling of personal information (including sensitive information).
The Defence Privacy Policy provides general information about the different types of personal information collected by Defence and how individuals can request access to or correction of their personal information. The Defence Privacy Policy also provides advice about how to raise potential breaches of privacy with Defence.
Resources
Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme Privacy Statement (PDF, 400.37 KB)