Privacy and confidentiality for carers

When you use health and support services, you may be asked for personal information about yourself or the person you care for. This information must be handled in a way that protects your privacy.

Sometimes you may need to give other people information about the person you care for. It’s important that you ask permission from the person you care for to do this. It’s also important that you respect their privacy and only provide information that is relevant to the situation.

Privacy laws

Professionals and services must protect your privacy under state or territory law and the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988. You have the right to:

• make choices and control your information
• be told how your information will be used
• see your health record and ask for corrections
• be told why and when your information will be shared

Getting help with privacy

You can find information about your rights and those of the person you care for on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner webpage and in this privacy fact sheet. If you believe there has been a breach of confidentiality, you can make a complaint.