Access to personal information

Some of the information the NSW Food Authority collects is personal information such as names and contact details or health information such as symptoms and details of illness.

This may be either:

• during investigations about food complaints
• included in data the Authority must maintain such as food business notifications, or
• other activities of the Authority.

Personal information includes any detail or group of details which make it possible to identify a specific person.

Individuals to whom the personal or health information relates, and only those individuals, have rights to:

• in some instances be the source of the information
• know the Authority is collecting or holding their personal information
• know whether they have a right to access it or request that any errors be corrected, and
• know what the Authority is using the information for, any recipients of the information and to consent to any voluntary uses and recipients.

The rights and obligations are established by the:

• Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW), and
• Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).

The Authority is obliged to maintain the privacy of personal information and restrict its use, except as allowed by law or as consented to by the person to whom it relates.

The Authority is also empowered to exercise its functions under the Food Act 2003: see s 133H.

Note that:

• some records are exempt from these rights
• people may not use these provisions to get access to other peoples’ information, and
• the Authority does not routinely disclose details of food complaints and investigations.

For more details, visit the NSW Privacy Commissioner’s website

Request access

Requests are managed by the Department of Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure & Services (TIRIS)