Confidentiality Policy
POLICY STATEMENT |
Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust will have explicit procedures for complying with the requirements of the Privacy Act and ensuring the confidentiality of client family / whanau and staff information |
PURPOSE |
To provide a framework for Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust in dealing with confidentiality considerations regarding the collection, use, protection and sharing of personal information. |
SCOPE |
Board of Trustees and all staff, volunteers, clients. All data, information collected either directly or indirectly. |
RESPONSIBILITIES |
Management:
Staff & Volunteers:
Trustees:
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SUPPORTING STATEMENTS |
Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust collects and administers a range of information for a variety of purposes. Some of this information is restricted in its circulation for commercial, privacy, or ethical reasons.
Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust will place the minimum of restrictions on the information it holds, but will ensure that such restrictions as are considered necessary are observed by its staff and volunteers.
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GUIDELINES |
The records management processes of the organisation shall incorporate procedures for designating information confidential.
Restriction Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust will place restrictions on the information it holds when the information:
Staff dealing with restricted material will be instructed in the recognition of material falling under these headings.
Identification Any information on which restrictions have been placed shall be as far as possible clearly identified on the document or file. Where categories of information, rather than individual documents, are restricted this restriction will be conveyed to staff and volunteers dealing with this information.
Protection Staff of the organisation, and volunteers dealing with restricted information, shall be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Training All staff will be instructed in the requirements of this policy.
Consent Where required, consent will be obtained in writing in order for sensitive data to be collected and held. If the data is relating to a minor, then the consent of the parent or caregiver must be obtained.
Referral Where client information is referred to another agency, the client must give informed consent.
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DEFINITIONS |
Confidentiality: refers to data collected about an individual; how it will be collected, managed and handled. Privacy: refers to the freedoms of an individual; what they choose to do or not do. Informed consent: agreement that is given after an individual has had access to all the information required to make a good decision. |
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS |
Document Retention Policy Refer to and specific document retention requirements as outlined in other policies |
REFERENCES |
Privacy Act 1993 |
Date Developed: |
Last Approved: |
Developed by: JB |
Next Review Due: |
Approved By: Board of Trustees |
Version Number: 0.1 |
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
I agree to hold confidential all information that Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust has placed restrictions on, and to release it to persons outside Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust only when authorised by Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust and subject to any conditions set by the Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust
I undertake to:
- Access information held by the Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust only when necessary to the performance of my assigned duties;
- Make copies of restricted information only when necessary to the performance of my assigned duties;
- Oversee the storage and handling of restricted information to minimise the risk of its diversion into unauthorised channels;
- Take reasonable care to properly secure confidential information on my computer and will take steps to ensure that others cannot view or access such information;
- Not disclose my personal password(s) to anyone without the express written permission of my department head, or record or post it in an accessible location, and will refrain from performing any tasks using another's password; and
- Notify Management if I have reason to believe that my access codes and passwords have been compromised.
Signed ________________________________ Date______________________________