Read our Policy
Your privacy is important to us and any information you provide to us will be treated carefully.
The City of Melville handles all personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (PRIS Act)
The PRIS Act 2024 introduces measures for strengthening privacy protections and introducing safeguards for responsible information sharing between government agencies and trusted external providers.
The City of Melville is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) set out in the PRIS Act.
Further information on the new legislation can be found on the WA State Government website at Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (PRIS Act).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is personal information?
Personal information refers to any information or opinion that can be used to make inferences in relation to an individual’s identity regardless of whether this information is true or the form it is recorded in. Some examples of personal information include:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Address
- Contact details
- Audio or video materials or photography
- Medical records
- Bank details
Sensitive information includes personal information relating to an individual’s identity in terms of beliefs and associations, health information or any other information that should be under additional privacy protections.
2. What are my privacy rights when I am asked for my personal information?
- You are not required to provide your information under all circumstances. For example, before sharing personal information like your date of birth or other identifying details, make sure there is a reason to collect it or is legally allowed to do so.
- You can remain anonymous when submitting enquiries or complaints, please refer to FAQ 6 below for more details.
- You have the right to be notified about what personal information the Council is seeking, why they need it, who they might share it with, whether it is optional and what the consequences are if you choose not to provide the information.
3. What are IPPs?
The PRIS Act sets out 11 Information Privacy Principles that set out how your personal information will be handled. These relate to all aspects of collection, use, disclosure, management, security, and retention of personal and sensitive information.
4. What are the Council’s obligations?
Under the PRIS Act 2024, we have obligations in relation to how we collect, store, use and access personal information. This has been set out by the Council in the privacy policy at the top of this page. This document is based on the 11 information privacy principles, which regulate the handling of information.
5. Can I have access and/or correct my information?
You have existing rights to access and correct any personal information held by the Council under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) (FOI Act). For more details, please see our Freedom of Information (FOI) page.
The PRIS Act provides you with additional rights to access or correct your personal information that any of our contracted service providers hold.
The PRIS Act also includes a no wrong door policy. This means that regardless of applying to access and/or correct your personal information under the FOI Act or the PRIS Act, your application will be treated as having been made under the correct legislation.
6. Can I remain anonymous?
You can remain anonymous when submitting enquiries. However, this may mean that we may be unable to update you regarding the outcome of your request where needed.
7. Automated decision-making
Under the PRIS Act 2024, the Council is required to provide notice in the case of the use of an automated decision-making process to make a significant decision about an individual which involves their personal information.
8. Will I be notified if my personal information has been breached?
From 1 January 2027, you have the right to be notified by the Council if your personal information was involved in a breach that is likely to cause you serious harm.
A notifiable information breach might occur when there has been unauthorised access to, or disclosure of, your personal information, or where your personal information was lost in circumstances where unauthorised access or disclosure is likely.
For More Information
If you have any issues or questions in regard to your privacy, please contact our Privacy Officer via email to [email protected]