ACT Public Service Employee Survey Privacy Notice and Data Handling Policy

The Australian Capital Territory Public Service (ACTPS) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of individuals participating in our surveys. This policy outlines the measures we take to ensure that personal information is collected, used, and disclosed in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

When undertaking the ACT Public Service Employee Survey (hereafter, the Survey), your personal information will be collected and handled by Office of Industrial Relations and Workforce Strategy (CMTEDD) and our contracted service provider, ORIMA Research, and the ACT Government in accordance with the:

  • Territory Privacy Principles (TPPs) and the Information Privacy Act 2014 (Information Privacy Act);
  • Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (HRA);
  • Public Sector Management Act 1994 (PSMA); and
  • Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act (Cth)).

When we collect your personal information under the Information Privacy Act, the Privacy Act (Cth), and the HRA, we must tell you about certain matters and how we will handle your personal information. This is your notice about those matters.

What is ‘personal information’?

‘Personal information’ is defined in the Information Privacy Act as;

…‘information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable; whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not’.

‘Sensitive information’ is a subset of personal information and for the purpose of this Survey includes personal characteristics (gender, age, cultural background, disability and carer status) and experiences with inappropriate behaviours at work.

Note: ‘personal health information’ or ‘health records’ are governed under the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 and not the Information Privacy Act.

Collection of Personal Information

The ACT public service will only collect personal information that is necessary for the specific purpose of conducting a Survey. We will not collect sensitive information, unless it is necessary for the specific purpose of the Survey and we have obtained the individual’s express consent.

We will collect personal information from individuals unless it is unreasonable or impracticable. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that individuals are aware that their personal information is being collected, how it will be used, and how they can access and correct it.

Why are we collecting your personal information?

The Survey is being conducted once in every two years to measure the views of employees within participating ACTPS directorates and sector agencies about various aspects of their employment experience. This project was endorsed by Strategic Board in April 2021, and is to be undertaken on opt-in or voluntary basis.

CMTEDD has contracted a service provider, ORIMA Research, to undertake the Survey on behalf of the ACT Government. ORIMA will use your personal information including your name (first, or preferred and surname), and your email address for the purpose of:

  • inviting you to undertake the Survey (via a link in an invitation email);
  • validating responses (e.g. to ensure individual respondents are ACTPS employees and only one response per person is recorded);
  • collecting and analysing your responses (in aggregated groups, e.g. by business unit, classification level, gender, age); and
  • managing the Survey process as contracted.

Who will we collect your personal information from?

Usually, we will collect personal information directly from you. However, for the purpose of the Survey we will also use personal information already collected from you that is held in various ACTPS HR systems (e.g. Chris 21) or by your Directorate (e.g. first and last names, email address, business unit). This information will enable the effective administration of the Survey during fieldwork, and will not be linked to your survey responses. In general, we will only collect sensitive information directly from you with your consent.

The Survey will collect limited personal information, including sensitive information (e.g. gender), from you on an ‘opt-in’ or voluntary basis. Free-text comments are facilitated at several points in the Survey, and you will be asked not to include any identifying information or refer to third parties when responding.

We will also collect details about your directorate or agency, work unit and work location and associate them with individual survey responses in order to facilitate aggregate reporting against work unit and work location.

The data collected will be de-identified and used to inform workforce management, policy development or refinement, and to monitor trends across the Service.

Do I have to take part in this Survey

Participation in this Survey is voluntary. If you do not want to take part, you do not have to. If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the Survey at any stage.

What will happen to information about me

By agreeing to the consent form, you consent to ORIMA Research collecting and using information about you for the Survey.

ORIMA Research will store the data collected from you for this Survey for:

  • A minimum of 7 years after the completion of the research
  • The information about you will be stored in a:
    • Non-identifiable format where your identity will be unknown.
    • All Information will be published in a way that will not identify you.
    • All of ACT Government Survey information will be stored and backed-up in Australia by ORIMA Research.

Data storage and securing your personal information

ORIMA Research is subject to contractual obligations to safeguard your privacy and the secure handling of Survey data. The provider also employs data management systems and a security policy which are ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System) certified. ORIMA Research will securely hold a complete de-identified individual unit record dataset of Survey responses for a minimum of 7 years after the completion of the Survey.

  • All of ACT Governments Survey information will be stored and backed-up in Australia by ORIMA Research
  • All Survey data during processing is treated and stored in compliance with AMSRO, ISO20252 and ISO27001 standards by ORIMA Research
  • ORIMA Research uses a 256-bit AES SSL encryption during transit between the server and browser. ORIMA Research then stores sensitive data with a 256-bit AES encryption in our database. Data at rest is encrypted with a 256-bit AES encryption.
  • CMTEDD stores the de-identified unit level Survey data received from ORIMA on DDTS (Shared Services ICT) approved systems and complies with ISO/ANZ standards. For more information see Shared Services ICT Security Policy. Only authorised employees within CMTEDD to have access to this de-identified unit record data. Access is strictly restricted according to access-level profiles, and on a ‘business need to know’ basis.

Use and disclosures of your personal information

On the conclusion of the Survey, ORIMA will provide:

  • a de-identified unit record dataset to CMTEDD. This dataset will be held exclusively by CMTEDD for analysis and reporting of results. The de-identified unit record dataset will not include personal information used to administer the Survey; and
  • individual ACTPS Directorates and agencies with aggregated reports. This will not include results for small groups, i.e. fewer than 10 people. Where there is a possible risk of re-identification in groups larger than 10 people, other statistical methods may be applied to protect individual privacy. Verbatim free-text comments will be provided to participating directorates and agencies. No other information will be attached to these comments

Aggregated reporting of results, in either PDF format or via an online portal, has been deemed sufficient for the vast majority of Directorate or agency needs, and has been implemented to:

  • ensure consistency of holdings under one set of directorate policies (i.e. CMTEDD);
  • limit Territory holdings of unit record data to one location only;
  • minimise transfers of unit record data; and
  • acknowledge the fact that the ACTPS has limited experience of conducting whole-of-Service surveys.

Participating Directorates or agencies will be free to explore further analysis of the data through follow-on arrangements via CMTEDD with ORIMA Research.

CMTEDD may conduct additional analysis of the individual unit record data to inform Service-wide programs and activities, and for the monitoring of trends. Any reporting on such analysis will remain de-identified and the relevant directorate(s) and business unit(s) consulted prior to any publication.

CMTEDD may disclose the de-identified individual unit record data to external research organisations (e.g. universities) where there is a genuine requirement for further analysis that cannot be conducted by CMTEDD or the ACT Government. Under these circumstances CMTEDD will:

  • ensure the external research organisations, Universities have ethical, privacy and security provisions equivalent to, or better than those that apply to CMTEDD itself;
  • enter into a Deed of Agreement that is legally binding with appropriate privacy and confidentiality provisions; and
  • further aggregate the data to ensure that no one directorate or agency is identifiable.

CMTEDD will only use or disclose your personal information for other purposes where there is a permitted exception to that use or disclosure under the relevant legislation including:

  • with your consent; or
  • where we are ‘required’ by an Australian law, or a court or tribunal order to do so; or
  • where another permitted exception, consistent with the Information Privacy Act is met.

Is the collection required or authorised by law?

No, the collection of the information in the Survey is on an opt-in or voluntary basis. You can also ask for responses to be removed at any point prior to finalisation of Survey results by contacting ORIMA at ACTPS@orima.com.

Consequences if you do not participate in the survey

There are no consequences if you choose not to participate in the Survey. Staff can choose to participate in the survey and answer some questions, or no questions. You are welcome to answer part of the Survey and under no obligation to complete the entire Survey. The choice always remains with the survey participant.

We would, however, encourage you to participate. The more respondents the better data, which will provide a more complete picture of employee experiences within the ACT Public Service.

Access to and correction of personal information

Individuals have the right to access their personal information held by the ACT public service. If an individual requests access to their personal information, we will take reasonable steps to provide the information in a form that is easy to understand.

If an individual believes that their personal information held by the ACT public service is incorrect, they have the right to request that it be corrected. We will take reasonable steps to update the data if it is established that it is erroneous.

Overseas disclosures

Your personal information will not be disclosed to any overseas parties, unless required by law, or with your consent.

Where can I find more information about privacy and what if I have a privacy complaint or any concerns about the Survey?

If an individual has a complaint about the way in which the ACT public service has handled their personal information, they may complain to our Privacy Officer.

More detailed information about how CMTEDD will handle your personal information and protect your privacy, is available in the CMTEDD Privacy Notice and in CMTEDD Privacy Policy.

The CMTEDD Information Privacy page also provides for how:

  • you can access your personal information;
  • seek correction of your personal information;
  • you may make a complaint about a breach of the TPPs; and
  • we will deal with privacy complaints, as detailed in our policy – Information Privacy Complaint Handling Policy and Procedures.

Please contact the CMTEDD Privacy Contact Officer, CMTEDDPrivacy@act.gov.au or on 6207 7207 if you have a concern or complaint about the way your personal information has been handled.

Consent form - declaration by the participant

  • I understand I am being asked to provide consent to participate in this Survey
  • I have read the Privacy Notice and Data Handling Policy, or someone has read it to me in a language that I understand;
  • I understand the purpose of the Survey.
  • I provide my consent for the information collected about me to be used for the purpose of this Survey only.
  • I freely agree to participate in this Survey as described and understand that I am free to withdraw at any time during the Survey and withdrawal will not affect my relationship with any of the named organisations.

Conclusion

The Australian Capital Territory Public Service (ACTPS) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of individuals participating in our Surveys. As mentioned earlier, your personal information will be collected and handled by Office of Industrial Relations and Workforce Strategy (CMTEDD) and our contracted service provider, ORIMA Research, and the ACT Government in accordance with the:

  • Territory Privacy Principles (TPPs) and the Information Privacy Act 2014 (Information Privacy Act);
  • Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (HRA);
  • Public Sector Management Act 1994 (PSMA); and
  • Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act (Cth)).

Return to ACTPS Employee Survey main page

Contact the ACTPS Survey Team: ACTPSSurvey@act.gov.au