JD v NSW Medical Board [2005] NSWADT 247

JD v NSW Medical Board [2005] NSWADT 247

The Board's provision of the section 66 report to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch was a disclosure, not a use, of JD's personal information. The disclosure of the psychiatric and health information was not directly related to the purpose for which it was collected, JD would have objected, it was not necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to life or health, and it was not reasonably necessary for investigative functions, referral of inquiries, law enforcement purposes, or performance of the informal inter-agency arrangement. No asserted exemption applied. The Board therefore did not contravene section 17, but contravened sections 18(1) and 19(1) of the Privacy and...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 November 2005
Procedural Posture
Application Pursuant to Section 55 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 for Review of Conduct Alleged to Contravene Information Protection Principles / Principal Matter
Outcome
Application upheld in part; contraventions of sections 18(1) and 19(1) found, and the matter was to be listed for a planning meeting concerning further conduct including compensation.
Legal Topics
['information Protection Principles' 'disclosure of Personal Information' 'health Information' 'use of Personal Information' 'public Sector Agency Exemptions' 'investigative Agency Exemptions' 'section 41 Privacy Commissioner Directions']
['privacy' 'administrative Law' 'health Practitioner Regulation'] ['information Protection Principles' 'disclosure of Personal Information' 'health Information' 'use of Personal Information' 'public Sector Agency Exemptions' 'investigative Agency Exemptions' 'section 41 Privacy Commissioner Directions']

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Procedural Posture

Application Pursuant to Section 55 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 for Review of Conduct Alleged to Contravene Information Protection Principles / Principal Matter

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the NSW Medical Board breached the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 by sending JD's personal information in a section 66 Medical Practice Act 1992 report to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch of the NSW Department of Health." 'Whether the Board was exempt from compliance with sections 17, 18 and 19(1) of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 by reason of section 41 Directions or statutory exemptions in sections 23 and 24.' "Whether providing the section 66 report to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch was a use of JD's personal information under section 17 or a disclosure under sections 18 and 19." 'What remedies should follow if contraventions were established.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Board's provision of the section 66 report to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch was a disclosure, not a use, of JD's personal information. The disclosure of the psychiatric and health information was not directly related to the purpose for which it was collected, JD would have objected, it was not necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to life or health, and it was not reasonably necessary for investigative functions, referral of inquiries, law enforcement purposes, or performance of the informal inter-agency arrangement. No asserted exemption applied. The Board therefore did not contravene section 17, but contravened sections 18(1) and 19(1) of the Privacy and...

Court Disposition

Application upheld in part; contraventions of sections 18(1) and 19(1) found, and the matter was to be listed for a planning meeting concerning further conduct including compensation.

Orders

  • ["I find that the NSW Medical Board has contravened sections 18(1) and 19(1) of the Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act 1998 in disclosing JD's personal information to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch of the NSW Department of Health." 'The matter is to be listed for a planning meeting to allow the...