Commonwealth Numbered Acts

PRIVACY ACT 1988 No. 119, 1988 - SCHEDULE 2

SCHEDULE 2
Section 17
INTERIM GUIDELINES CONCERNING THE COLLECTION, STORAGE, USE AND SECURITY OF TAX
FILE NUMBER INFORMATION INTRODUCTION A breach of these guidelines amounts to
an interference with the privacy of an individual giving rise to a right to
complain to the Privacy Commissioner and a right to seek compensation. 1.
GENERAL 1.1 The tax file number is not to be used as a national identification
system by whatever means. 1.2 Tax file number recipients shall not collect,
record, use or disclose tax file number information in an unauthorised manner
and, in particular, shall not act in an unauthorised manner to use
tax file number information as a means of matching personal information about
a person. 1.3 The Commissioner of Taxation shall publicise in a
generally available publication information relating to:

   (a)  the persons or bodies who are authorised by law to require or request
        another person to quote that person's tax file number;

   (b)  the specific purposes for which such a requirement or request may be
        made;

   (c)  the prohibitions on the use and disclosure of tax file number
        information; and

   (d)  the penalties that apply to unauthorised acts and practices in
        relation to tax file number information; together with information as
        to where detailed particulars relating to these matters can be
        obtained. 2. COLLECTION OF TAX FILE NUMBER INFORMATION 2.1
        Tax file number recipients shall take all reasonable steps in the
        circumstances to ensure that staff whose duties include collecting
        tax file number information are informed of:

   (a)  the circumstances in which tax file number information may be
        collected;

   (b)  the need to protect the privacy of the person to whom that information
        relates; and

   (c)  the penalties that apply to unauthorised acts and practices in
        relation to tax file number information. 2.2 Tax file number
        recipients collecting tax file number information shall take all
        reasonable steps in the circumstances to ensure that the manner of
        collection takes account of the rights of persons to control the
        accumulation and dissemination of information relating to themselves.
        3. STORAGE AND SECURITY OF TAX FILE NUMBER INFORMATION 3.1
        Tax file number recipients shall take all reasonable steps in the
        circumstances to:

   (a)  introduce information handling procedures to protect the privacy of
        individuals in relation to their tax file number information;

   (b)  make staff aware of the rights of individuals to privacy in relation
        to their tax file number information; and

   (c)  make staff aware of the penalties relating to unauthorised acts and
        practices in relation to such information. 3.2 Tax file number
        recipients holding tax file number information shall take all
        reasonable steps in the circumstances to ensure that security
        safeguards and procedures are in place to prevent unauthorised access
        to, modification or disclosure of, and loss of, such information,
        whether that information is stored in physical or electronic form. 3.3
        Tax file number recipients shall take all reasonable steps in the
        circumstances to ensure that access to records which contain
        tax file number information for authorised purposes is confined to
        persons who have a need for access to such information for the purpose
        of carrying out tax-related functions of the tax file number
        recipient. 4. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF TAX FILE NUMBER INFORMATION 4.1
        Tax file number recipients shall take all reasonable steps in the
        circumstances to ensure that staff with access to
        tax file number information are informed of the prohibitions on the
        use and disclosure of such information and of the penalties that apply
        to breach of those prohibitions. 4.2 Tax file number recipients shall
        not use tax file number information for other than authorised
        purposes. 4.3 Without limiting the application of 4.2 to any other
        circumstances:

   (a)  an employer or investment body shall not use a tax file number for the
        purposes of building up a database on individuals for its own
        purposes;

   (b)  an employer or investment body shall not cross-match tax file number
        information with other information held about a person to carry out
        activities which do not relate to obligations under a taxation law;
        and

   (c)  Government agencies, including the Commissioner of Taxation, shall not
        directly or indirectly disclose tax file number information or use
        tax file number information to cross-match information about a person,
        except in authorised circumstances, for example, disclosure to an
        agency or person in specified cases expressly approved by the
        Parliament under sections 16 and 16A of the
        Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 or otherwise. 5. PUBLICITY 5.1
        Publication by the Commissioner of Taxation pursuant to guideline 1.3
        shall be made prior to any obligation to quote a tax file number
        arising as a result of the
        Taxation Laws Amendment (Tax File Numbers) Act 1988. 6. CESSATION OF
        EMPLOYMENT AND INVESTMENT 6.1 Tax file number recipients shall destroy
        tax file number information held by them as employers or as investment
        bodies in relation to their former employees/investors in accordance
        with guidelines issued by the Privacy Commissioner. 7. MEANING OF
        TERMS IN INTERIM GUIDELINES 7.1 "Tax file number recipient" means file
        number recipient. 7.2 "Investment body" means a person who is an
        investment body for the purposes of Part VA of the
        Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. 7.3 "Employer" means an employer to
        whom a person may quote a tax file number in relation to their
        employment.