Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered Acts(1) The Secretary must ensure that the Department maintains information systems for the purposes of enabling—
(a) the planning, monitoring, evaluating, provision and funding of disability services for persons with a disability;
(b) the Secretary to achieve the objectives and perform the functions conferred on the Secretary under this Act or any other law relating to disability.
(2) Sub-section (3) applies to—
(a) a person who is or has been appointed to any office under this Act or employed or engaged under this Act;
(b) a disability service provider or a person who is or has been employed or engaged by a disability service provider or who otherwise provides or has provided services under this Act;
(c) a person who is or has been a member of staff of the public service for the purposes of this Act.
(3) A person to whom this sub-section applies must not, directly or indirectly, disclose to any person any information relating to the provision of disability services to any person that is gained by or given to that person in his or her official capacity and that identifies, or is likely to lead to the identification of, the person to whom the information relates.
Penalty: 20 penalty units.
(4) Sub-section (3) does not prevent the disclosure of information—
(a) to the extent that is reasonably required in connection with the performance of a duty or the exercise of a power or function under this or any other Act including without limiting the generality of this paragraph—
(i) for the purpose of developing or maintaining and improving the information systems required to be maintained by sub-section (1);
(ii) for the purpose of planning, managing, monitoring, evaluating and improving the provision of disability services and which is of a statistical nature;
(b) by a disability service provider to the Secretary of information of a statistical nature which the disability service provider is required to provide under this Act for the purpose of enabling the Secretary to perform functions conferred, and meet obligations imposed, on the Secretary under this Act or any Commonwealth Act;
(c) with the consent of the person to whom the information relates or of that person's guardian or of that person's next-of-kin if that person is dead;
(d) to another person to whom sub-section (3) applies, if the disclosure is reasonably required in connection with the provision by that other person of services under this Act to the person to whom the information relates;
(e) to any person to the extent that is necessary in connection with the provision of care or treatment to the person to whom the information relates if the person to whom the information relates is unable to consent to the disclosure and without the disclosure he or she may, in the opinion of the discloser, suffer detriment;
(f) to a court or tribunal in the course of a proceeding before it;
(g) to the Minister;
(h) to the Secretary;
(i) to the Disability Services Commissioner;
(j) to the Senior Practitioner;
(k) to the Public Advocate;
(l) to a person to whom in the opinion of the Minister it is in the public interest that the disclosure be made.
(5) For the purposes of sub-section (4)(a), "any other Act" does not include the Health Privacy Principles in the Health Records Act 2001 or Part 3 or 5 of that Act.