The Tribunal takes its privacy obligations seriously. We collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988.

Collection of personal information

We collect personal information only when it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions or activities. This includes:

• dealing with applications under the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (ART Act) and the Migration Act 1958 (Migration Act), primarily for review of administrative decisions
• arranging and managing examinations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
• managing enquiries, complaints and freedom of information and privacy requests
• informing the public about the Tribunal’s decisions and other developments at the Tribunal through our alerts services
• managing employment and personnel matters, particularly in relation to our members, staff and contractors
• facilitating the general administration of the Tribunal, including consultation and liaison in relation to the Tribunal’s practices, procedures and operations, procuring goods and services, and undertaking quality assurance activities.

We collect personal information directly from you or your representative.

We also collect information from other persons where this is required or authorised under the ART Act, the Migration Act or another Australian law, or it is unreasonable or impracticable to collect it from you.

Use and disclosure

We use and disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was collected and will only use or disclose information for another purpose where this is permitted under the Privacy Act.

In general, we do not use or disclose personal information for another purpose unless one of the following applies:

• you have consented
• you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose the information for that other purpose and it is either related or, in the case of sensitive information, directly related to the purpose for which it was collected
• it is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order
• it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to somebody's life, health or safety, or to public safety
• it is reasonably necessary for an enforcement related activity conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body (e.g. the Australian Federal Police or the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority), or
• we have reason to suspect that unlawful activity, or misconduct of a serious nature, which relates to our functions or activities has been, is or may be, engaged in, and we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary in order to take appropriate action.

On occasion, we might use personal information we collected from you to seek your feedback on our operations, including inviting you to participate in a survey.

Our privacy policy sets out who, other than the individual concerned, can usually access personal information that we hold.

We do not usually disclose personal information to anyone outside of Australia.

Data quality and security

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect is accurate, up-to-date, complete and relevant. These steps include:

• promptly recording new personal information and updating personal information in existing records when we are advised that it has changed
• using data validation and consistent formats when we collect and record some kinds of personal information
• reminding people or otherwise offering opportunities to update personal information, and
• where necessary, confirming the accuracy of information from other parties or a public source with you.

We take steps to protect the personal information held against misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:

• ICT security measures, including authentication requirements for accessing our electronic systems and keeping audit log of systems access by users
• physical security measures, including restricting physical access to our offices and secure storage for information held on site with access to classified material limited to specific Tribunal personnel who have the required level of clearance
• secure storage for information held offsite
• procedures and training for dealing with suspected data breaches.

When no longer required, personal information is deleted or destroyed in a secure manner, or deleted in accordance with the requirements of the Archives Act 1983 and our records authorities.

Access and correction

You may request access or changes to the personal information we hold about you, or request that we change that personal information, under the Privacy Act or the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

We will allow access or make changes to the personal information we hold unless we consider there is a sound reason not to under the Privacy Act, FOI Act or any other relevant law.

If we do not agree to make requested changes, you may make a statement about the requested changes and, in most cases, we will attach this to the record.

It is not generally possible to make changes to Tribunal decisions once they have been finalised.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal information, or concerned we have breached our obligations under the Privacy Act, you should first lodge a complaint with us, preferably by:

• completing this form and emailing it to privacy@art.gov.au
• sending us your complaint through our online contact form on the 'Contact us' page
• contacting one of our registries.

We will endeavour to investigate and respond to your complaint within 30 days. Please see our Feedback and complaints for more information.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. Further information about how to make a privacy complaint is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website.

Privacy impact assessment register

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is a systematic assessment of a project that identifies the impact that the project might have on the privacy of individuals, and sets out recommendations for managing, minimising, or eliminating that impact.