medicare australia - news.com.auresources.news.com.au/files/2010/03/02/1225836/... · mental health...

Medicare Australia. 2009 Personal Information Digest. of 71

MEDICARE AUSTRALIA

Table of Contents

1. PERSONNEL RECORDS ............................................................................................. 5

2. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS ................................................................. 5

3. SEPARATION QUESTIONNAIRES .............................................................................. 5

4. PROGRAM REVIEW DIVISION FILES ......................................................................... 6

5. COMMITTEES AND TRIBUNAL FILES ........................................................................ 7

6. INVESTIGATIONS INFORMATION FILES SYSTEM .................................................... 7

7. PROGRAM REVIEW DIVISION – GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE ............................ 8

8. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM .......................................................................... 8

9. AUSTRALIAN CRIMES COMMISSION (ACC) FALSE IDENTITY DATABASE ............. 9

10. PROJECT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM .................................................. 9

11. INVESTIGATORS’ AND MANAGERS’ DIARIES. .......................................................... 9

12. PROVIDER MONITORING SYSTEM ......................................................................... 10

13. PRISM DATABASE .................................................................................................... 10

14. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS INFORMATION SYSTEM REPORTS ...................... 11

15. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................ 11

16. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REVIEW SCHEME ...................................................... 12

17. PROGRAM REVIEW INFORMATION FORM ............................................................. 12

18. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING PROJECT NATIONAL APPLICATION .......................... 13

19. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING INFORMATION SERVICE APPLICATION .................... 13

20. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING INFORMATION SERVICE (PSIS) DOCTOR REGISTRATION DATABASE ..................................................................................... 14

21. CENTRELINK DISABILITY SUPPORT PENSION DATABASE ................................... 14

22. CENTRELINK IDENTITIES ........................................................................................ 14

23. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE – CUSTOMS .................................................................. 15

24. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS DATABASE .................................................................... 15

25. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS CASE FILES .................................................................. 15

26. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS EXTRACTION FILES ..................................................... 16

27. MEDICARE INFORMATION SYSTEM REPORTS ...................................................... 16

28. MEDICARE PUBLIC ENROLMENT RECORDS ......................................................... 17

29. MEDICARE AND DVA PROVIDER REGISTRATION RECORDS ............................... 17

30. MEDICARE BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS ................................................................................................... 18

31. COMPENSATION RECOVERY PROGRAM ............................................................... 19

32. AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE (ADF) FAMILY HEALTHCARE PROGRAM ........... 19

33. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THEIR NON-MEDICAL REPRESENTATIVES ................................................................................................. 20

34. MEDICARE CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS ............................................................... 20

35. PHARMACY APPROVAL FILE ................................................................................... 21

36. COLOSTOMY AND ILEOSTOMY MEMBERSHIP FILES ............................................ 22

37. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME: SAFETY NET ......................................... 22


38. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS ................................ 23

39. REMOTE PHARMACY ALLOWANCE / ISOLATED PHARMACY ALLOWANCE ......... 23

40. AUTHORITIES PROCESSING SYSTEM .................................................................... 23

41. REFUND PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS PATIENT CONTRIBUTIONS .................... 24

42. PATHOLOGY APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION SYSTEM ...................................... 24

43. AUSTRALIAN ORGAN DONOR REGISTER .............................................................. 25

44. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFIT SCHEME PATIENT ENTITLEMENT TABLES ............ 25

45. IN VITRO FERTILISATION AND GAMETE INTRA FALLOPIAN TRANSFER PROGRAM .................................................................................................................................. 26

46. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS PRESCRIBER SYSTEM .......................................... 26

47. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS MAILING LISTS ...................................................... 27

48. ISOLATED PHARMACY ALLOWANCE ...................................................................... 27

49. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS BRANCH SOFTWARE VENDOR ASSISTANCE PAYMENT SYSTEM .................................................................................................. 28

50. MEDICARE FAMILY SAFETY NET REGISTRATION ................................................. 28

51. SUMMARY COMBINED ARCHIVE MEDICARE DATA ............................................... 29

52. HEARING SERVICES PROGRAM ............................................................................. 29

53. AUSTRALIAN CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATION REGISTER ......................................... 30

54. GENERIC PRACTICE REGISTER ............................................................................. 30

55. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) .................................... 31

56. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) – ACCESS DATABASE 32

57. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) – PATIENT INFORMATION .......................................................................................................... 32

58. NATIONAL EXTERNAL BREAST PROSTHESES REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM .... 32

59. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) ............................................................... 33

60. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) - Service Incentive Payments (SIP) , and SIP ACAI (Service Incentive Payments Aged Care Access Incentive) ......................... 33

61. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) – Access Database ................................ 34

62. GENERAL PRACTICE IMMUNISATION INCENTIVES (GPII) ..................................... 34

63. GENERAL PRACTICE IMMUNISATION INCENTIVES (GPII) - Section 46E Agreement .................................................................................................................................. 34

64. MEDICARE TEEN DENTAL PLAN ............................................................................. 35

65. COMMUNITY PHARMACY AGREEMENT INTRANET DATABASE ............................ 35

66. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN VISITING MEDICAL PRACITIONERS (WA VMP's) CLAIMS HISTORY RECORD ................................................................................................... 36

67. SPECIALISED DRUG PATIENT DATABASE ............................................................. 36

68. RURAL INCENTIVE PROGRAMS .............................................................................. 37

69. DVA VETERAN REGISTRATION (CROSS REFERENCE FILE) ................................. 38

70. DVA CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS ........................................................................... 38

71. BOTULINUM TOXIN PROGRAM ............................................................................... 39

72. TRASTUZUMAB (Herceptin®) .................................................................................... 39

73. BOWEL CANCER SCREENING REGISTER .............................................................. 40

74. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME ............................................................................. 41

75. CO- ORDINATED CARE TRIALS ............................................................................... 41


76. DOCUMENTS CREATED WITHIN OR RECEIVED BY OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL IN PERFORMING ITS ROLE OF PROVIDING IN-HOUSE LEGAL ADVICE AND LEGAL SERVICES ................................................................................................................. 42

77. INFORMATION REQUEST TRACKING SYSTEM (IRT) ............................................. 42

78. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FILES ...................................................... 43

79. IRIS DATABASE (INDIVIDUAL REQUEST INFORMATION SYSTEM) and STATE INFORMATION REQUEST DATABASES. ................................................................. 43

80. LSAC DATABASE ...................................................................................................... 44

81. CORPORATE DIRECTORY DATABASE ................................................................... 45

82. INFORMATION DELIVERY SERVICES ..................................................................... 45

83. MEDICAL INDEMNITY PROGRAM ............................................................................ 46

84. MEDICARE LSPN REGISTER (LOCATION SPECIFIC PRACTICE NUMBER) ........... 49

85. MEDICARE BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FILE ............................................. 49

86. MEDICAL BENEFITS (DENTAL PRACTITIONERS) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FILE .. 50

87. MEDICAL BENEFITS (DENTAL PRACTITIONERS) APPEAL COMMITTEE FILE ...... 50

88. MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY - COMMITTEE FILE ................... 51

89. PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF ENQUIRY - COMMITTEE FILE . 51

90. MEDICAL SERVICES REVIEW TRIBUNAL FILE ....................................................... 52

91. MEDICARE PARTICIPATION REVIEW COMMITTEE FILE ........................................ 52

92. OPTOMETRICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY COMMITTEE FILE ......... 52

93. SPECIALIST RECOGNITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ONE FOR EACH STATE AND TERRITORY) - COMMITTEE FILES ........................................................................... 53

94. SPECIALIST RECOGNITION APPEAL COMMITTEE (ALL STATES AND TERRITORIES) - COMMITTEE FILE .......................................................................... 53

95. GENERAL PRACTICE RECOGNITION ELIGIBILITY COMMITTEE FILE ................... 54

96. GENERAL PRACTICE RECOGNITION APPEAL COMMITTEE FILE ......................... 54

97. MINISTERIAL AND EXECUTIVE CORRESPONDENCE ............................................ 55

98. PRACTITIONERS UNDER NOTICE ........................................................................... 55

99. RESOURCE ACCESS CONTROL FACILITY USER PROFILES ................................. 56

100. e-CERTIFICATES APPLICATION MANAGER (HAM DATABASE) ............................. 56

101. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SYSTEM ............................................................................... 57

102. DEBTORS RECORDS ............................................................................................... 57

103. ABN REPOSITORY ................................................................................................... 58

104. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 30% REBATES ON PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE ..... 58

105. ELECTRONIC CLAIMS .............................................................................................. 59

106. MEDICARE SMARTCARD REGISTRATION RECORDS ............................................ 59

107. MEDICONNECT – DOCTOR REGISTRATION RECORDS ....................................... 60

108. MEDICONNECT – PHARMACY REGISTRATION RECORDS .................................... 60

109. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA / ATO ONGOING E-TAX PREPOPULATION – POST JULY 2006 ........................................................................................................................... 61

110. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA ACCESS POINT DATABASE ............................................. 61

111. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA FEEDBACK REGISTER ..................................................... 62

112. LOCAL LIAISON OFFICER REGISTER ..................................................................... 62

113. MP/ SENATOR / ELECTORATE OFFICER REGISTER ............................................. 62


114. RESPITE CARE – 21 DAY EXTENSION .................................................................... 63

115. AGED CARE – CLIENT RECORD (FORM 3020) ....................................................... 63

116. AGED CARE – COMMUNITY AGED CARE PACKAGES CLAIM FORMS AND PAYMENT SUMMARIES ............................................................................................ 64

117. 100 POINT CHECK .................................................................................................... 64

118. AGED CARE – EXTENDED CARE AT HOME (EACH) CLAIM FROMS AND PAYMENT STATEMENTS ........................................................................................................... 65

119. AGED CARE – EXTENDED CARE AT HOME – DEMENTIA (EACHD) CLAIM FORMS AND PAYMENT STATEMENTS ................................................................................. 65

120. AUTHORISATION FORM – FOR USE BY SERVICES PARTICIPATING IN AGED CARE ONLINE CLAIMING ......................................................................................... 65

121. AGED CARE – TRANSITIONAL CARE CLAIM FORMS AND PAYMENT STATMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 66

122. APPOINTMENT OF A NOMINEE ............................................................................... 66

123. APPLICATION FOR ELIGIBLE OXYGEN TREATMENT AND/OR ENTERAL FEEDING SUPPLEMENT ........................................................................................................... 67

124. RESIDENT CLASSIFICATION SCALE FOR PERMANENT CARE ............................. 67

125. RESIDENT ENTRY RECORD FOR PERMANENT CARE .......................................... 68

126. CLAIMS FOR AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY FOR CARE RECIPIENTS IN APPROVED RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES ......................................................... 68

127. AGED CARE FUNDING INSTRUMENT APPLICATION FOR CLASSIFICATION ........ 69

128. APPENDIX 1 .............................................................................................................. 70

129. PERSONNEL RECORDS ........................................................................................... 70


MEDICARE AUSTRALIA ADDRESS: PO BOX 1001

TUGGERANONG DC ACT 2901 Medicare Australia holds 127 classes of personal information. The first item listed is Personnel records, (for a description see Appendix 1 at the end of this document). Items 2 through to 127 are described individually. 1. PERSONNEL RECORDS (a) Compensation/rehabilitation records (b) Equity and diversity records (c) Staff development and training records (d) Recruitment records (e) Appeal records (against promotion and transfer) (f) Payroll and leave records (g) Aurion human resource management and payroll system (h) Personal files (i) AWA agreements (j) Counselling and discipline matters (k) Complaints and grievances (l) Documents/files created for the purposes of managing legal processes eg. AAT, AIRC cases (m) Conflict of interest declarations (n) Performance management records See Appendix 1 for a generic description of Personnel Records. 2. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS The purpose of these records is to record applications for outside employment for Medicare Australia employees. Content may include name, occupation and the type of work undertaken outside of Medicare Australia. The personal information on these records relates to employees. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: All Employment Services staff from APS 3 – EL2 and the Manager, HR Management and Development Branch. The records are kept for 75 years after the date of birth of the employee or 7 years after last action, whichever is the later. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: National Payroll Manager, National Office – (02) 6124 6569 Manager Employment Services, National Office – (02) 6124 6658 HR Manager, WA – (08) 8214 8304 HR Manager, VIC – (03) 9605 7050 HR Manager, SA – (08) 8274 9336 HR Manager, QLD – (07) 3004 5376 HR Manager, NSW – (02) 9895 3014 HR Manager, TAS – (03) 6125 5688 The records relate to 77 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are kept on paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway,

ACT 2900. 3. SEPARATION QUESTIONNAIRES The purpose of these records is to record the reason for separation of employment from Medicare Australia.


Content may include: name, occupation, gender and the reasons for separation of employment from Medicare Australia. The personal information on these records relates to employees. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: all Employment Services staff from APS3-EL2, all People and Strategy and Consultancy staff from APS6 – EL2, and the Manager, Human Resource Management and Development Branch. The records are kept for 75 years after date of birth of employee or 7 years after last action, whichever is the later. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: National Payroll Manager, National Office – (02) 6124 6569 Manager Employment Services, National Office – (02) 6124 6658 HR Manager, WA – (08) 8214 8304 HR Manager, VIC – (03) 9605 7050 HR Manager, SA – (08) 8274 9336 HR Manager, QLD – (07) 3004 5376 HR Manager, NSW – (02) 9895 3014 HR Manager, TAS – (03) 6125 5688 The records relate to 973 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. Computer records are

accessed via computer terminal in Payroll Team. 4. PROGRAM REVIEW DIVISION FILES The purpose of these records is to maintain a record of correspondence and information in respect of medical practitioners, allied health providers, dentists, pharmacists and patients collated during the process of investigation, audit, education, counselling and/or recoveries. In addition, records are also held for GP practices, Private Health funds and Medical Indemnity Insurers. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, qualifications and any other information determined relevant by qualified officers. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, criminal convictions, criminal intelligence, financial information, relationship details, evidence or allegations of professional relationships and claims information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, dental practitioners, pharmacists, optometrists and persons enrolled in the Medicare and PBS programs who have been the subject of or identified in relation to an audit or inquiry. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Program Review Division and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept for up to 10 years in accordance with RA 20174. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations other than in the pursuit of program integrity cases. In these cases the information may be referred to Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or State law enforcement or review authorities through the Information Release Delegate. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to a large number of individuals and are stored on computer and paper media.


Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

5. COMMITTEES AND TRIBUNAL FILES The purpose of these records is to enable Medicare Australia to carry out its Committee and Tribunal secretariat functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, criminal convictions, financial information, clinical conditions, services rendered and medication dispensed. The personal information on these records relates to Committee or Tribunal members, specific medical or dental practitioners, optometrists, chiropractors physiotherapists, podiatrists, osteopaths, pharmacists, and patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Executive Officers, General Manager Program Review Division, authorised staff of Program Review Division and authorised Secretariat staff. The records will be retained permanently in accordance with RA 20157. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Human Services, the Minister for Health and Ageing and members of the relevant Committees and Tribunals. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records are stored on computer and paper media. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 6. INVESTIGATIONS INFORMATION FILES SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to provide and collate information to facilitate the protection and control of Commonwealth revenue allocated to the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, personal identification number, Medicare card number, PBS entitlement number(s), pharmacy approval number, practice locations, qualified specialty and provider number. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, identified illegal immigrants, Medicare and/or PBS criminal convictions, Medicare and/or PBS benefit recoveries, details of known professional relationships (practitioner/pharmacist) and company directorships (practitioner/pharmacist), known fraudulent identities and details of unusual Medicare or PBS claiming or servicing patterns, if any. No patient clinical details are stored. The personal information on these records relates to persons enrolled in the Medicare and/or PBS programs and providers of services for which Medicare and/or PBS benefits are payable and in respect of whom some inquiry and/or post payment action has been initiated. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of Program Review Division and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept indefinitely and appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 43,000 individuals and are stored on computer media.


Note: The Investigations Information Files System is now only a data base holding and is not actively updated, it is a legacy system for simple antecedent/background checks.

Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 7. PROGRAM REVIEW DIVISION – GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE The purpose of these records is to record general correspondence with practitioners and pharmacists in regard to servicing, and members of the public in regard to fraud and involvement in inappropriate practice and matters relating to recoveries. Content may include: name, address, occupation, practice location, pharmacy location, qualifications, institution through which qualifications were obtained and other details volunteered by individuals. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, criminal convictions, details of medical practice and details of pharmacy. The personal information on these records relates to members of the medical, pharmacy and optometrical professions and members of the public. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of Program Review Division and its state office counterparts and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are retained permanently according to RA 20169. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to a large number of individuals and are stored on paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 8. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to identify fraud and inappropriate practice in the programs administered by Medicare Australia. Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, Centrelink number, Department of Veterans’ Affairs number, safety net entitlement number and date of birth, pharmacy approval number, pharmacy address, prescriber number, and prescriber location. Content may also include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, summary statistics on utilisation of services and benefits paid in the programs administered by Medicare Australia. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, criminal intelligence and financial information. The personal information on theses records relates to Medicare or PBS patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: appropriately cleared staff in the Program Review Division. The records are retained until the investigation and follow up is complete. The records are kept for 10 years in accordance with RA 20174. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 500,000 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed St North, Greenway ACT 2900.


9. AUSTRALIAN CRIMES COMMISSION (ACC) FALSE IDENTITY DATABASE The purpose of these records is to identify fraud and inappropriate practice in the programs administered by Medicare Australia, where this inappropriate activity has been undertaken by individuals known to the Australian Crime Commission as false or fraudulent identities. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive information may include: fraudulent identities known to the Australian Crime Commission. The personal information on these records relates to individuals (both false and real) and includes aliases. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Program Review Division. These records are retained permanently. This information is classified by the Australian Crime Commission and is not disclosed to any other person or organisation. This information is the subject of an inter-agency agreement between the ACC and Medicare Australia. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the ACC. The records relate to approximately 6500 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer media. Location: National Intelligence System, National Office – 134 Reed St North, Greenway, ACT 2900 10. PROJECT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to protect and control Commonwealth revenue allocated to the Medicare and PBS programs, and to record information relating to projects undertaken by the Program Review Division. Content may include: file number, name, address, provider number, pharmacy approval number and nature of inquiry. Sensitive content may include: criminal convictions, criminal intelligence and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to providers of medical services for which Medicare and PBS benefits are payable and about whom Medicare Australia has undertaken a routine review or inquiry. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of Program Review Division and its State Office counterparts and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept permanently in accordance with RA 20167. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 17,000 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Note: The Project Information Management System is now only a data base holding and is not actively updated, it is a legacy system for simple antecedent/background checks. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer

terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

11. INVESTIGATORS’ AND MANAGERS’ DIARIES. The purpose of these records is to record daily professional activities. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and phone number.


The personal information on these records relates to practitioners, pharmacists, patients, staff and members of the public. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: diary owner and their supervisor, Executive Assistant and the Freedom of Information Officer. Diaries are the property of Medicare Australia and are redeemable on cessation of employment with the organisation. The records are kept indefinitely and will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to an unknown number of individuals and are stored on paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway,

ACT 2900. 12. PROVIDER MONITORING SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to provide and collate information to facilitate the protection and control of Commonwealth revenue allocated to the Medicare program and to record details relating to interventions by staff of the Program Review Division. Content may include: name, address and occupation. Sensitive content may include: financial information and details of interventions. The personal information on these records relates to providers of medical services for which Medicare benefits are payable and about whom Medicare Australia has undertaken an inquiry and intervened. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of Program Review Division, its state office counterparts and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept permanently in accordance with RA 20167. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 4,400 individuals and are stored on computer media. Note: The Provider Monitoring System is now only a data base holding and is not actively updated, it is a legacy system for simple antecedent/background checks. Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

13. PRISM DATABASE The purpose of this database is to maintain a record of people and organisations that are our clients, these clients are associated to Program Review activities. Content may include name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, date of death, status, medical specialty, identification and contact details. Sensitive content may include racial or ethnic origin, criminal intelligence and financial information.


The personal information on these records relates to employees, practitioners, pharmacists, pharmacies, medical practice staff, members of the public, approved persons, approved pathology providers and approved pathology authorities. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: All Program Review Division staff as required. The records are kept permanently in accordance with RA 20167. Some of this information is disclosed to Freedom of Information (FOI) requesters, statistics to Attorney-General’s Department and Australian National Audit Office. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting Program Review Division on (02) 6124 4113 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 90,000 individuals and are stored on computer media. Location: Medicare Australia Mainframe, National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 14. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS INFORMATION SYSTEM REPORTS The purpose of these records is to aid in the analysis of the use of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The reports utilise information received from pharmacists, practitioners with authority to prescribe or via online claiming for PBS, CTS or manual claims. Aggregated data may also be used for research purposes. Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, Centrelink number, Department of Veterans’ Affairs number, safety net entitlement number and date of birth, pharmacy approval number, pharmacy address, prescriber number, and prescriber location. Sensitive content may include: interpolations and extrapolations that may be made from the prescription and/or supply of PBS medications. The personal information on these records relates to: medical practitioners, participating dental practitioners, optometrists, pharmacists and all persons who received pharmaceutical benefits where there is a claim made on the Commonwealth or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division, authorised staff of the Program Review Division, authorised staff of the Information Technology Services Division and authorised staff of Legal, Privacy and Information Services Branch. The report records are kept for varying periods (according to RA 20157/20161) depending on the nature and outcome of the report, since the report or abstracts may result in submissions to change benefits or policy or procedures, or education, or counselling, or prosecution and/or recovery of benefits paid. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations unless release of information has been properly authorised. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the General Manager, Program Review Division Ph: (02) 6124 6590 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to a variable number of individuals dependent on the nature of the report and the purpose for which it was created and are stored on paper media or by electronic means. Location: National Office and State Headquarters. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway,

ACT 2900. 15. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT The purpose of these records is to identify fraud and inappropriate practice in the programs administered by Medicare Australia. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, summary statistics on utilisation of services and benefits paid in the programs administered by Medicare Australia.


Sensitive content may include: financial information and practice details on services used and benefits claimed. The personal information on these records relates to: practitioners, patients, receptionists, nurses, paramedics and health companies. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: all authorised staff that have a need to access the information in Program Review Division. The records are kept for a period of 10 years in accordance with RA 20174. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to a variable number of individuals dependent on the nature of the report and the purpose for which it was created. They are stored on paper media or by electronic means. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 16. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REVIEW SCHEME The purpose of these records is to enable the General Manager, Program Review Division or Delegates of the CEO to make requests to the Director of Professional Services Review, under s86 of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation. Sensitive content may include criminal convictions or financial information. The personal information on these records relates to: Medicare practitioners and patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: General Manager Program Review Division, authorised staff of the Program Review Division and state office counterparts. The records are retained for 10 years in accordance with RA 20174. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Director of Professional Services Review, Professional Services Review Committees, Professional Services Review Committees Secretariat and the Determining Authority. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 670 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

17. PROGRAM REVIEW INFORMATION FORM The purpose of these records is to protect and control Commonwealth revenues allocated to the programs administered by Medicare Australia and to record information received from a number of sources where concerns are expressed regarding the correct operation of such programs. Content may include name, address, phone numbers, practitioner, pharmacist, patient. Sensitive content may include complainant details, details of patient’s care. The personal information on these records relates to providers of services for which Medicare and/or PBS benefits are payable and to patients who receive such services. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Program Review Division and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept in accordance with RA 20173.


The information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 25,000 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer media. Note: The Program Review Information Form is not actively updated, it is a legacy system for simple antecedent/background checks. Location: National Office and State Offices have access to records via computer terminals within Medicare Australia

network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

18. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING PROJECT NATIONAL APPLICATION The purpose of these records is to conduct the Prescription Shopping Project in line with the Medicare Australia (Functions of Chief Executive Officer) Direction 2005. Content may include: Medicare number, patient ID, details of PBS items obtained, details of doctors and pharmacists associated with the items obtained. The personal information on these records relates to persons who meet the legislative criteria in the definition of a ‘Prescription Shopper’ and referred to as identified patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: designated Prescription Shopping Project staff. The records are kept for three months during analysis and identification. They are also available from archive for up to five years as data is PBS claims data. Some of this information is disclosed to practitioners of the identified patients. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records on identified patients are stored on paper and computer media. Location: Medicare Australia network, Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

19. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING INFORMATION SERVICE APPLICATION The purpose of these records is to conduct the Prescription Shopping Project telephone enquiry service in line with the Medicare Australia (Functions of Chief Executive Officer) Direction 2005. Content may include: Medicare number, patient ID, address details, details of PBS items obtained, number of doctors associated with the items obtained. The personal information on these records relates to persons who meet the legislative criteria in the definition of a ‘Prescription Shopper’ and referred to as identified patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: designated Brisbane call centre staff, Prescription Shopping Project trained staff. The records are kept for one month. They are also available from archive for up to five years as the data is PBS claims data. Some of this information is disclosed to Doctors of the identified patients. Information, which is disclosed to doctors, is stored on hard copy files and computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Medicare Australia network, Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.


20. PRESCRIPTION SHOPPING INFORMATION SERVICE (PSIS) DOCTOR REGISTRATION DATABASE

In order to access information through the PSIS, doctors need to complete and sign a registration form and obtain an access number. The information is held on hard copy files and computer media. The purpose of these records is to enable call centre operators to verify callers prior to disclosing information, and record call history. The information contained in the registration database includes doctor provider number, prescriber number, where qualified, year of birth, contact details, call history including patient ID. As at 29 June 2009, the database contains details of 25,415 doctors who have registered to use the service. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Medicare Australia network, Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 21. CENTRELINK DISABILITY SUPPORT PENSION DATABASE The purpose of these records is to identify by data-matching, those living Centrelink clients in receipt of a disability support pension who may have or be deliberately defrauding either Centrelink, Medicare Australia or both, by either creating false identities, obtaining benefits by deception or otherwise obtaining benefits to which they are not entitled. Content may include name, address, date of birth and gender. The personal information contained in these records relates to all living Centrelink Disability Support Pension customers including overseas, suspended and cancelled customers as at 21 January 2008. The following agency staff have access to this personal information; authorised staff within the Program Review Division.. These records will be kept until the project is completed. Some of this information is disclosed to the originating agency, Centrelink. Specifically the Fraud Intelligence Section. These records relate to 1,103,153 individuals and are stored on computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 22. CENTRELINK IDENTITIES The purpose of these records is to store the Customer Registration Details for Centrelink. Content may include name, date of birth, Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) and relationship type. The personal information contained in these records relates to members of the public and fraudulent activities. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Staff members who have a Protected Security Clearance and have access to the National Intelligence Facility. These records are retained permanently. These records are stored on computer media and are not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. The current volume of records is approximately 21 million as at 20 June 2009.


Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 23. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE – CUSTOMS The purpose of these records is to hold information which has been supplied by Customs about one of their operations which has resulted in the seizure of Medicare related information. Content may include name, address, date of birth and information related to the seizure that is relevant to Medicare Australia. Sensitive content may include criminal intelligence. The personal information contained in these records relates to individuals who have had property seized by Customs. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: only those who have a Protected Security Clearance and have access to the National Intelligence Facility. These records are retained permanently. These records are stored on computer media and are not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. These records relate to 27 individuals as at 30 June 2009. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 24. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS DATABASE The purpose of these records is to identify unauthorised access to the information held in the programs administered by Medicare Australia Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, date of birth, provider number, and provider location. Sensitive content may include: criminal intelligence information. The personal information contained on these records relates to employees of Medicare Australia and individuals enrolled in the Medicare program. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: appropriately cleared staff in the Audit and Rish Assurance Branch, Privacy and Information Release Branch and IT Security. These records are retained for 7 years and/or until the investigation and/or possible follow up is completed. This information may be disclosed to other organisations for the purpose of conducting further investigations. The records relate to approximately 948 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Branch Manager of the Audit and Risk Assurance Section (ARAS) Ph: (02) 6124 7703 or the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: National Office, 134 Reed St North, Greenway ACT 2900. 25. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS CASE FILES The purpose of these records is to keep track of potential and proven cases of unauthorised access to the information held in programs administered by Medicare Australia.


Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, gender, date of birth, staff ID number and details of individuals accessed. The personal information contained on these records relate to employees of Medicare Australia and individuals enrolled in the Medicare program. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: appropriately cleared staff of the Audit and Risk Assurance Branch, Privacy and Information Release Section and IT Security. These records are retained for 10 years or until the investigation and follow up is complete. This information may be disclosed to other organisations for the purpose of conduction further investigations. The records relate to approximately 948 staff members as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer and paper media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Branch Manager of the Audit and Risk Assurance Section (ARAS) Ph: (02) 6124 7399 or the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 7789. Location: National Office, 134 Reed St North, Greenway ACT 2900. 26. UNAUTHORISED ACCESS EXTRACTION FILES The purpose of these records is to assist with identifying unauthorised access to the information held in the programs administered by Medicare Australia. Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, safety net entitlement number, date of birth, provider number and address, occupation, gender and summary statistics on utilisation of services and benefits paid. Sensitive content may include: sensitive medical information and financial information. The personal information contained on these records relate to employees of Medicare Australia and individuals enrolled in the Medicare program. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: appropriately cleared staff of the Audit and Risk Assurance Branch, Privacy and Information Release Section and IT Security. These records are retained for 10 years or until the investigation and follow up is complete. This information is not usually disclosed to other organisations. It is not possible to provide an accurate or approximate number of records held on these files as potentially all persons enrolled on the Medicare program could have information on these files. This information is stored on computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Branch Manager of the Audit and Risk Assurance Section (ARAS) Ph: (02) 6124 7399 or the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 7789. Location: Computer terminal in the Unauthorised Access and IT Security areas.

National Office, 134 Reed St North, Greenway ACT 2900. 27. MEDICARE INFORMATION SYSTEM REPORTS The purpose of these records is to aid in the statistical analysis of Medicare use. The reports utilise information from the Medicare provider file, the Medicare claims history records and the Medicare enrolment records. Aggregated data may be used for research purposes. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, financial information, relationship details, Medicare claims history and patient history, Private Health Insurance Advisory Committee (PHIAC) record and/or financial information of the billing agents.


The personal information on these records relates to persons enrolled in the Medicare program and eligible service providers. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: General Managers, senior State management; authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts; authorised staff of the Public and Provider Services Division, Medicare and AGP Division, PBS and Aged Care Division, Financial Management Group, PHIAC Officer, and relevant State Office staff. The report records are kept for varying periods depending on the nature and outcome of the report. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to a variable number of individuals dependent on the nature of the report and the purpose for which it was created, and are stored on paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway,

ACT, 2900. 28. MEDICARE PUBLIC ENROLMENT RECORDS The purpose of these records is to enrol and identify eligible persons for the purpose of administering the Medicare program. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, country of origin, travel documents, copies of passports, copies of Birth Certificates, entitlement start and end dates, residency status, telephone number, Medicare card number, personal identification number, consumer number, indigenous identifier, email address, fax numbers and bank account details. Sensitive content may include: origin and indigenous status. The personal information on these records relates to persons enrolled in or who have applied for the Medicare program. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare operational staff; authorised staff of the Medicare and AGP Division, PBS and Aged Care Division, Program Review Division, Public and Provider Services Division and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Generally, paper enrolment forms and accompanying documentation are held for two years and then destroyed in accordance Records Authority Entry 20163; electronic records held in the Consumer Directory System are not authorised for disposal in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20204. . Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Families, Housing and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. Limited personal information is available over the counter at a Medicare office or by telephone after proper identification. The records relate to approximately 21 million individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: Paper records are held in National Office and State Headquarters. Computer records are accessed via

computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

29. MEDICARE AND DVA PROVIDER REGISTRATION RECORDS


The purpose of these records is to identify eligible providers and prescribers, and to record their qualifications and status for the payment of Medicare benefits and Repatriation benefits. Content may include: name, address, year of birth, occupation, gender, practice location, graduation dates and places, practitioner registration number issued by registering authority, residency status, languages spoken, vocational recognition status, Fellowship, provider number, prescriber number, telephone number and email address. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, participating dental practitioners, participating optometrists, aboriginal health workers, audiologists, chiropodists, chiropractors, diabetes educators, dieticians, exercise physiologists, mental health nurse, occupational therapists, osteopath, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists and speech pathologists. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Medicare and AGP Division, Program Review Division, Chief Operating Officer Division and their state office counterparts; the Freedom of Information Officer; and authorised staff of the Financial Management Group. Paper records are kept for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167. Electronic records in the Provider Directory System are not authorised for disposal in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20204. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Human Services; the Department of Health and Ageing; the Department of Veterans' Affairs; authorised external recipients including private health insurance funds; public hospitals and pathology laboratories; the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine; and the Office of Hearing Services. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Medicare and VAP Branch; Medicare Provider Services Operations Manager or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 165,000 individuals and are stored on computer, paper and microfiche media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold Paper and microfiche records; computer records are accessed

via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

30. MEDICARE BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS The functions of the Committee are to consider references to it by the Minister for Health and Ageing under sections 19A and 3C of the Health Insurance Act 1973 relating to whether Medicare benefits should be payable for a particular procedure or treatment. Due to the repeal of sections 11 and 12 a new panel has been formed under the title of the Medicare Claims Review Panel (MCRP) which was established to look at plastic surgery services and services performed in excess of item limits. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number (work/home), Medicare card number, practitioner's provider and/or prescriber number. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, medical history and information as volunteered by the practitioner and/or patient. The personal information on these records relates to Medicare enrolees upon whom either plastic surgery services are performed or services are performed in excess of item limits or are proposed to be performed and to the practitioners who have /or will render the services. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Medicare and Associated Government Program Division and its State office counterparts; authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts; and senior management. These records are retained permanently in accordance with RA 20157. Some of this information is disclosed to: members of the MCRP, as well as the Schedule Review Section of the Department of Health and Ageing.


Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Medicare Assessing Section Ph: (02) 6124 6364; the State Manager (NSW & VIC), the State Manager QLD, SA, WA, & TAS, Medicare Australia in the appropriate State; or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. However, clinical information provided by practitioners relating to their patients can only be released following written permission from that practitioner. The MBAC records relate to approximately 8437 individuals and are stored on paper media. The MCRP records relate to 10,100 individuals and are stored on paper media. Location: National Office (off-site Storage Warehouse Canberra) and State Headquarters. Main Location: National

Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 31. COMPENSATION RECOVERY PROGRAM The purpose of these records is to enable (a) management of compensation cases where the amount of compensation paid exceeds $5,000, (b) recovery of the amount of Medicare benefits paid for treatment of the compensable injury and (c) recovery of Nursing Home benefits or Residential Care subsidies on behalf of the Department of Health and Ageing. Content may include: name of compensable person, name of claimant, address, Medicare card number, date of birth, details of solicitors representing the individual, details of accident or injury/illness, insurers’ name and address, amount of compensation received and amount of Medicare/Nursing home benefits or Residential Care subsidies to be recovered. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health or disability details and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to persons with compensation related injuries. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of Medicare and Associate Government Program Division, authorised staff of the Program’s state headquarters and authorised staff of the Financial Management Group. The hardcopy records are kept for up to 7 years from date of batching in accordance with Records Authority 20172. This information is disclosed to other persons or organisations as per legislative and policy requirements. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information held under the Program by contacting 132127. The records relate to over 800,000 individuals and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed by authorised

users via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

32. AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE (ADF) FAMILY HEALTHCARE PROGRAM The purpose of these records is to enable the matching of information to establish and record entitlement for dependant registration and provider eligibility for program payments under the ADF Family Healthcare Program. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of the ADF Family Healthcare Program, eligibility and payments. Content may include: name, addresses, telephone numbers, Medicare card number, dependants, Medicare Benefits Schedule item number, date of service, provider number, payment details, date of entitlement and end of entitlement, The personal information on these records relate to persons and providers registered in the ADF Family Healthcare Program for which a service has been claimed under the Medicare program attracting a program payment. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare Australia operational staff; authorised staff of the Medicare and Associate Government Programs Division and its State Office counterparts; authorised staff of the Finance and Corporate Services Division, authorised staff of the PBS and Aged Care Programs Division and authorised staff of the IT Operations and Projects Division.


Information may be disclosed to the Department of Defence for use in informing dependants of services attracting Fringe Benefits Tax and provider details required for publication for promotional purposes. The paper records are generally retained for 25 years in accordance with the Archives Act 1983. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Limited information of a general nature is available over the telephone for providers after proper identification. The records are stored on computer, compact disc and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed by authorised

users via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900

33. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THEIR NON-MEDICAL

REPRESENTATIVES The purpose of these records is to record correspondence from the general public and their non-medical representatives. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of the Medicare program and/or a person's eligibility and claims. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, travel documentation, arrival date in Australia, expected departure date, residency status and Medicare card number where applicable, statutory declaration and other information volunteered by the person. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin and other information if volunteered by the person. The personal information on these records relates to members of the public and their non-medical representatives. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Medicare and AGP Division, PBS and Aged Care Division and their State office counterparts; telephone inquiries and correspondence staff and senior State management. The records are kept for varying periods depending on the nature of the inquiry and action taken, and will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing and the Department of Human Services. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Manager Information Release PO Box 9822 in your capital city.

The records relate to approximately 186,250 individuals and are stored on paper computer and photographic media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway,

ACT 2900. 34. MEDICARE CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS The purpose of these records is to record and assess payments of Medicare benefits for audit purposes and for the Compensation Recovery Program. The records are also used for policy and financial planning of the Medicare program. Content may include: name, address, Medicare card number, Medicare Benefits Schedule item number, date of service and provider number of rendering practitioner. Content may also include payment details, benefit details, provider number of requesting practitioner for any specialist service including pathology services. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, payment and benefit details. The personal information on these records relate to persons enrolled in the Medicare program for which an expense has been incurred for a professional service for which Medicare benefits have been claimed.


The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare operational staff; authorised staff of the Program Management Division and its State office counterparts; authorised staff of the Financial Management Group, authorised staff of the Program Management Division and the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept in two forms (paper and computer) which are retained for different periods. Generally, claim forms and accompanying documentation or electronic transactions or scanned images of documents are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20173. Computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20177. Inbound and outbound data received by Medicare Australia through the Online Claiming system is stored in three forms: encrypted & signed, signed only and plain text. Retaining this data allows Medicare Australia to facilitate and provide:

• retransmission of claim information, where that information had been corrupted in transmission or deleted from a system; and

• information on the conduct of audits of provider accounts. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing; official committees established under legislation to inquire into the provision of Medicare services, and to authorised third parties upon written request. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Medicare and DVA Branch Ph: (02) 6124 6582; the State Manager, Medicare Australia in the appropriate State; the Information Release Officer on 6124 6333, or Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Limited personal information of a general nature is available over the counter or by telephone after proper identification. The records relate to potentially 20 million individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed via computer


35. PHARMACY APPROVAL FILE The purpose of these records is to record details of applications for approval under the National Health Act 1953 to supply pharmaceutical benefits. Content may include: name, address of pharmacy, postal address, occupation, telephone number, trading name, date approved, name of proprietors, registration numbers, banking institution, account numbers, related correspondence and any investigation or audit activity. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists, ostomy associations, doctors and hospital authorities. If a record relates to a partnership, one record will contain several individual's personal details. Each approval may contain personal details of other individual pharmacists who are authorised to sign claim forms. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. The records are generally retained for 50 years after action completed in accordance with RA 20173; computer records are deleted 25 years after approval is revoked or cancelled in accordance with RA 20177. This information may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing for use in informing surrounding pharmacies of applications to supply pharmaceutical benefits in their areas. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 5,500 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media.


Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

36. COLOSTOMY AND ILEOSTOMY MEMBERSHIP FILES The purpose of the records is to assess and reimburse the Colostomy and Ileostomy Association members for the supply of approved items. Content may include: name, address, association name and address, approval number and patient association membership number. Sensitive content may include: physical health. The personal information on these records relates to members of the Colostomy and Ileostomy Association who require colostomy and ileostomy approved items. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. Computer records are kept in accordance with RA 20177; paper records are retained for 2 years only in accordance with RA 20173. Authorisation documents signed by members are kept indefinitely. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 35,000 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media.

Location: Paper records are held by National Office and Tasmanian state headquarters. Computer records are

accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

37. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS SCHEME: SAFETY NET The purpose of these records is to establish and record entitlement of benefits under the safety net arrangements of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Content may include: name, address, dependants, number of prescriptions issued, entitlement card issue date, end date of entitlement, entitlement number and Medicare card number. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists and patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Generally, claim forms and accompanying documentation are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20177; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20177. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to the Information Release Section, Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 2.5 million individuals per annum and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer



38. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS The purpose of these records is to record Commonwealth subsidised benefit payments for the cost of medicines supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This information is used for audit purposes and to allow Medicare Australia to assess future payments of pharmaceutical benefits in accordance with the National Health Act 1953. Content may include: name, address, prescription and claim form, prescriber number and name of doctor, patient entitlement number, description of drug prescribed and supplied, instructions for drug use, repeat details, dates of prescribing and supply, and pharmacist approval number(s), patient's or agent's signature, cost of medication and patient’s Medicare card number, and Medicare card expiry date. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists, prescribers and patients eligible to participate in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; authorised staff of the Development and Strategy Division; Program Review Divisions and their State office counterparts and authorised staff of the Financial Management Group. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Paper records, such as claim forms and prescriptions; are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20177; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20177. This information is disclosed in a de-identified way to the Department of Health and Ageing and Department of Veteran's Affairs. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to potentially 21.1 million individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer


39. REMOTE PHARMACY ALLOWANCE / ISOLATED PHARMACY ALLOWANCE The purpose of these records is to store, for historical purposes only, approvals for the remote pharmacy allowance. This allowance has been replaced with an allowance which is now part of the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement. Content may include: name, address, occupation. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division. The records are generally retained for 50 years after action completed in accordance with RA 20167. Some of this information is disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing and the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 160 individuals (current records) and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: Paper records are held by National Office; computer records are accessed via computer terminals within

Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 40. AUTHORITIES PROCESSING SYSTEM


The purpose of these records is to capture approval related details for the prescribing and supply of PBS authority required medication and medication prescribed and supplied with an increased quantity and/or repeats. This information is used to support the decision making process around providing the authority approval. Content may include: patient's name, address and date of birth, doctor's name and prescriber number, drug requested (including brand), quantity, strength and repeat details and patient’s Medicare card number. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, pharmacists and their patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its state office counterparts. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Paper records such as claim forms and accompanying documentation are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20177; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20172. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 2.3 million individuals per annum and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer


41. REFUND PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS PATIENT CONTRIBUTIONS The purpose of these records is to record and process refunds under section 87A of the National Health Act 1953. Content may include: name, date of birth, pharmacy accounts, patient's social security status, reasons for claiming refund safety net card number and Medicare card number. The personal information on these records relates to patients and refunds. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts and Medicare office processing staff. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Paper records are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20177; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20177. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Medicare Australia cannot accurately report on the number of individuals recorded. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer


42. PATHOLOGY APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to determine eligibility for the payment of Medicare benefits for pathology services. These records are required by section 16A of the Health Insurance Act 1973.


Content may include: name, address, names and status of partners or relatives, practice locations, qualifications, telephone and fax numbers, registration details, place of employment, provider number and approval periods, laboratory categories and divisions of accreditation. Sensitive content may include: criminal convictions, criminal intelligence, financial information, financial associations and work relationships. The personal information on these records relates to Approved Pathology Practitioners, Approved Pathology Authorities, Accredited Pathology Laboratories and Approved Collection Centres. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Medicare and DVA Branch; authorised staff in each State HQ (computer records only); and authorised staff of the Program Review Division. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Pathology Section Ph: (02) 6124 6800; the State Manager, Medicare Australia in the appropriate State or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 2000 collection centres, 550 pathology laboratories, 900 pathology, and 200 proprietors of pathology laboratories. Records are kept on registry files marked ‘confidential’. Information on files may come in the form of application forms, emails, faxes, letters and internal memos. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records; computer records are accessed via computer

terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

43. AUSTRALIAN ORGAN DONOR REGISTER The purpose of the Donor Register is to record the intentions (pre July 2005) and legal decisions (post July 2005) of people to becoming an organ and/or tissue donor after death. Content may include name, address, date of birth, gender. Sensitive information may include details of the organs/tissue nominated for donation. The personal information on these records relates to persons who have expressed their decision to donate organs and/or tissue for transplantation, and persons who have expressed their decision not to donate their organs and/or tissue for transplantation. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: processing staff in Tasmania, call centre staff in Queensland and Victoria, Medicare Office staff nationally, Medicare & DVA branch staff, and operational and development staff in National Office. This information is disclosed to authorised medical personnel in the organ and tissue donation network, who have signed confidentiality agreements covering the use of personal information. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Australian Organ Donor Register Help Desk Ph: 1800 777 203 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 5,577,179 individuals as at 30 April 2009 and are stored on computer and paper media. Records are kept indefinitely and will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Location: Medicare Australia - National Office and Tasmania hold paper records; computer records are accessed via

computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

44. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFIT SCHEME PATIENT ENTITLEMENT TABLES


The purpose of these records is to assess a person's eligibility for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The Medicare system (Medicare Safety Net and the GP bulk billing incentive) also utilise these records to assess if a person is concessionally entitled at a determined date in time. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, entitlement number, type of entitlement (card type), level of entitlement, entitlement start and end date, entitlement end reason code, family unit (dependency code) and patient’s Medicare card number. The personal information on these records relates to persons entitled to receive medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In addition, and as mentioned above, the Medicare Safety Net and the GP bulk billing incentive initiatives also utilise this information to assess eligibility. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised National Office and State Pharmaceutical Benefits/Medicare staff assessing entitlement; authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts, and authorised staff of the Customer Services Division and Information Technology Services Division. The records are kept in accordance with RA 20203. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to potentially 21.1 million individuals and are stored on computer media. Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

National Office, 134 Reed Street Nth Greenway, ACT 2900.

45. IN VITRO FERTILISATION AND GAMETE INTRA FALLOPIAN TRANSFER PROGRAM The purpose of these records is to maintain patient treatment detail under the In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)/Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) program administered in accordance with the National Health Act 1953. Content may include: name, address, gender and Medicare card number. Sensitive content may include: date of service, name of medication, strength of medication, quantity of medication, supplier's name, doctor's name, address and provider number. The personal information on these records relates to patients under the IVF and GIFT programs. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division; Pharmaceutical Benefits Section and Special Drugs Unit and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. The records are kept for 50 years in accordance with RA 20173. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing and medical adviser (co-ordinator of the IVF/GIFT Program for Medicare). Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Medicare Australia cannot accurately report on the number of individuals accessing this program. Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

46. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS PRESCRIBER SYSTEM


The purpose of these records is to identify and validate the prescriber details of prescriptions written and claimed against the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Content may include: name, address, occupation and a full extract from the Provider File for those medical and dental practitioners having a pharmaceutical benefits prescriber code. The personal information on these records relates to medical, dental practitioners and optometrists issued with a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme 'prescriber' number. The following agency staff have access to personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. The records are generally retained for 50 years after action completed in accordance with RA 20167. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Veterans' Affairs for use in claims processing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia, PO Box 1001, Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 110,000 individuals and are stored on computer media.

Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 47. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS MAILING LISTS The purpose of these records is to provide a supplementary mailing address for the dispatch of pharmaceutical benefits publications and correspondence. Content may include: name, address, type of publication and number of copies. The personal information on these records relates to persons receiving pharmaceutical benefits publications and correspondence. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts. The records are deleted when mailing of publications or correspondence is no longer required. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations other than the mailing house and the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch in writing, Medicare Australia, PO Box 1001, Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 5,500 individuals (pharmacists, dispensing doctors and hospital authorities) and are stored on computer media. Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 48. ISOLATED PHARMACY ALLOWANCE The purpose of these records is to record applications and approvals for the Pharmacy Restructuring Authority and initiate payment. This information is held for historical purposes only. Content may include: name, address and occupation. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists.


The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division. The records are kept in accordance with RA 20167. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing, and the Pharmacy Restructuring Authority. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 400 individuals (current records) and are stored on paper and computer media.

Location: Paper records are held by National Office; computer records are accessed via computer terminals within

Medicare Australia network. Main location: 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 49. PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS BRANCH SOFTWARE VENDOR ASSISTANCE PAYMENT

SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to identify which pharmacies a software vendor is supporting. This then enables Medicare Australia to calculate how many prescriptions are transmitted and claimed by pharmacies that are supported by individual Software Vendors. Content may include: name, address, occupation and the name of the pharmacies which a software vendor is supporting. Sensitive content may include financial information. The personal information on these records relates to Software Vendors and Pharmacies. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS and Aged Care Programs Division. This information is kept in both electronic and paper formats. These records are kept indefinitely. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The records relate to 10 Software Vendors and approximately 5,093 pharmacies as at 15 July 2009. Location: Paper records are held in the Tasmania State Headquarters and computer records are accessed via

computer terminals within Medicare Australia Network in National Office and Tasmania State Headquarters.

50. MEDICARE FAMILY SAFETY NET REGISTRATION The purpose of these records is to establish and record entitlement to benefits under the safety net arrangements of the Medicare program. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, marital status and names of dependants, and concessional entitlement. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, participating dental practitioners, participating optometrists, allied health practitioners and patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Medicare operational staff and authorised officers of the Program Management Division and its State office counterparts; authorised staff of the Financial Management Group; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State office counterparts.


Paper records can be destroyed 2 years after action completed according to RA 20163. Electronic records are kept in accordance with RA 20203. This information is kept in both electronic medium and paper. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing, Centrelink, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to the: Manager Information Release PO Box 9822 in your Capital City. The records relate to approximately 4.3 million families and are stored on computer media Location: Paper records are held in the State Headquarters and contracted document management companies;

computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia Network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

51. SUMMARY COMBINED ARCHIVE MEDICARE DATA The purpose of these records is to enable staff of the Program Review Division and Finance Management Group to extract more useable patient claims history data for Medicare statistical reports. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, names and status of partners or relatives. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health. The personal information on these records relate to patients enrolled with Medicare and providers of services for which Medicare benefits are payable. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Information Unit staff, Program Review Division; Financial Management Group; Information officers, Professional Review Branches, State headquarters. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Generally, claim forms and accompanying documentation are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20173; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20203. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing; and to other persons or organisations in de-identified format. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to the: Manager Information Release PO Box 9822 in your Capital City. The records relate to 20,000,000 individuals and are stored on computer media. Location: Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network. Main location:

National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 52. HEARING SERVICES PROGRAM The purpose of these records is to register claims made by accredited contractors providing hearing services and aids to eligible persons under the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997. Personal details of accredited contractors (including payments) and practitioners are also recorded. Content may include: name, OHS voucher number, application and expiry dates, item number, date of service, contractor and practitioner details. The personal information on these records relates to eligible persons and accredited contractors and practitioners. Sensitive content may include: payment information to contractors. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff in the Hearing Services section. The records are kept in two forms that are retained for different periods. Generally, claim forms and accompanying documentation are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20173; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20203.


Some of the information is disclosed to: authorised staff of the Office of Hearing Services at the Department of Health and Ageing. Contractors can obtain information regarding access to their personal records by contacting the Manager, GP Incentives, Rural and Hearing Services, Associate Government Programs Branch, Medicare and Associate Government Programs Division. Ph: (02) 6124 6390 or the Freedom of Information Officer. Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 469 contractors and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900. 53. AUSTRALIAN CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATION REGISTER The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (the Register) was established to provide an effective means of monitoring immunisation coverage and service delivery throughout Australia. It does so by recording information about immunisation services provided to individual children less than seven years of age. The Register holds information about individual children either who are enrolled in Medicare or who have received an immunisation that has been notified to the Register. Personal information on the Register relates to children less than seven years of age, immunisation service providers, and immunisation services notified since 1 January 1996. Child information may include: parent/guardian name, child surname, given name, address, date of birth, gender, aboriginality (if held – this data is non-compulsory), Medicare number, vaccines administered identified by type and dose, date of service and service provider details. Service provider information may include: surname, given name, initial, address, phone number, provider/registration number, date of birth, bank account details, payment details and immunisation services provided. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the ACIR Section, National Office, and authorised operational/processing staff in the states. The retention period of these records varies in accordance with RA 20180 and RA 20181. Some of this information can be disclosed to: Department of Health and Ageing, State Health Departments, recognised immunisation providers as described in Medicare Australia Regulations Amendment 1997 and prescribed bodies for the purposes of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. Providers can obtain information regarding the status of a patient's immunisation record by contacting authorised staff of the Register on 1800 653 809 after gaining consent from the child's parent(s)/guardian(s). The records relate to approximately 2 million children and 30,000 Immunisation providers, and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office, WA State Headquarters and TAS State

Headquarters, computer records are accessed via Medicare Australia’s computer main frame network National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

54. GENERIC PRACTICE REGISTER The purpose of this register is to record: practice level information for practices registered with the Practice Incentives Program (PIP), the General Practice Immunisation Incentives (GPII) Scheme; provider level information for the purposes of Service Incentive Payments (SIPs) under the PIP; and to record information relating to divisions of general practice. This information is used in the calculation of incentive payments for practices/providers. Content may include: practice details, comprising the practice name, practice address, Rural Remote Metropolitan Area (RRMA) classification, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, email address; Division of General Practice; whether the practice has public liability insurance; bank account details for electronic funds transfer; names of providers associated with the practice and provider numbers linked to the practice location; practice arrangements,


including after hours arrangements and average weekly consulting hours; details of providers in the practice including the relationship with the practice; Medicare registration status; approval period of application; payment amounts; provider details for SIP include; provider name, provider number, address details, banking details and payment details. The personal information on these records relates to names of providers working in the practices registered with the Practice Incentives Program and the General Practice Immunisation Incentives Scheme. Information relating to the Rural Retention Program will include provider name, address and banking details. Divisional Information includes address and contact details. The personal information on these records also relates to the ownership of a practice and the providers practicing at that location. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the nominated person at the practice, owners of the practice or to the Department of Health and Ageing. Sensitive content may include: ACN details, bank account details for electronic funds transfer, amount of grant, findings of inappropriate practice and fraud convictions and payments received. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia and Tasmania state headquarters. Records should be destroyed 7 years after registration processing is completed (for closed practices). This is in accordance with RA 20168. Open files are kept active indefinitely. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing for statistical, research and policy development purposes; and the National Prescribing Service for mailing purposes. The owner, proprietor or contact person/s listed on the application form can obtain information regarding access to the practice record by contacting the Manager, GP Incentives, Rural and Hearing Services Programs Ph (02) 6124 6390 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and State Headquarters, South Australia.

Data from the paper records is extracted and held on the computer mainframe network and Internet Explorer. Main Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

55. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) The purpose of these records is to determine the eligibility of community based general practices, private psychiatric practices and other appropriate organisations engaging a mental health nurse to receive an incentive payment. Records are also used to determine the elements a practice is entitled to be paid and to keep an accurate record of practice arrangements and organisation details for miscellaneous mail outs and statements. Content includes: name of organisation, the type of organisation, primary contact details, secondary contact details and address. Sensitive content includes, bank account details, ABN, mental health nurse details, which include name, date of birth, and credential number. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia state headquarters Records are kept on paper and computer media. They are kept for seven years after an organisation opts out of the Program. Open files are kept active indefinitely. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Manager, Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program or the Freedom of Information Officer. As at June 2009, the records relate to 199 organisations, 429 mental health nurses and 32,455 claimed sessions and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and State Headquarters, South Australia.



56. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) – ACCESS DATABASE The purpose of these records is to store practice level information for organisations registered with the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program, claims received and to identify practice information requested by staff. Content includes the organisation identification number, name of organisation, the type of organisation, primary contact details, secondary contact details and address. Organisation details are comprised of: name, date applied for the program, contact persons, practice address, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, email address, mental health nurse credential status, registration date of mental health nurse, date of amendments, payment run details and adjustment and recoveries details The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia state headquarters These records are kept solely for the purpose of the abovementioned information, no external individuals, organisations or contact person have access to this information. The records are kept active on computer media indefinitely. Location: Access database held in State Headquarters in South Australia, 209 Greenhill Road, Eastwood, SA 5073 57. MENTAL HEALTH NURSE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (MHNIP) – PATIENT INFORMATION The purpose of these records is to establish and record entitlement to benefits and reporting purposes under the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, arrival date in Australia expected departure date (where applicable), residency status, Medicare card number and other information volunteered by the person. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin and other information if volunteered by the person. The personal information on these records relates to members of the public. Location: Data is held on the computer mainframe network and Internet Explorer at Medicare Australia’s National

Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900. 58. NATIONAL EXTERNAL BREAST PROSTHESES REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM The National External Breast Prostheses Reimbursement Program records personal information including, Medicare number, name, address, contact details including telephone, address, email and details of financial institution to enable the reimbursement to be made. The personal information on these records relates to eligible individuals and ineligible individuals. Sensitive content may include: prosthesis (es) type (i.e. left or right breast). The records are kept in two forms that are retained for different periods. Records relating to the making of payments to eligible persons are held in accordance with RA 20171 and destroyed 7 years after last action. Records relating to claim forms (applications for the program) and eligibility are held in accordance with RA 20164 and will be destroyed 7 years after cessation of the program or eligibility for the program ceases. Computer records of processed and rejected claims are stored on the system permanently and form a historical record of the individual. The following agency staff have access to personal information: authorised staff in the External Breast Prostheses Reimbursement Program section, National office and authorised operational staff in the Western Australia State Headquarters.


Some of this information is disclosed to authorised staff at the Department of Health and Ageing includes claims presented at National, State and postcode level including prosthesis(es) type. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. As at 30 June 2009, the personal information relates to approximately 10,600 individuals. This information is stored on paper and electronic media. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and WA State Headquarters, computer

records are accessed via Medicare Australia’s computer main frame network National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

59. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) The purpose of these records is: to determine the eligibility of a practice to receive an incentive payment; which elements a practice is entitled to be paid for; and to keep an accurate record of practice arrangements and provider details for mail outs of statements, news updates and miscellaneous mail outs. Content may include name, address and provider number. Sensitive content may include bank account details, ACN details and payments received. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia state headquarters. The records are kept on paper and computer media. They are kept for 7 years after registration processing is complete (for closed practices). Open files are kept active indefinitely. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Manager, GP Incentives, Rural and Hearing Services Programs Ph: (02) 6124 6390 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records related to 8237 practices as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and State Headquarters, South Australia.


60. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) - Service Incentive Payments (SIP) , and SIP ACAI

(Service Incentive Payments Aged Care Access Incentive) The purpose of these records is to establish banking details and to establish whether a provider is at an accredited or PIP approved practice for SIP and SIP ACAI. SIP ACAI payments are made to providers who render services in Commonwealth funded Residential Aged Care Facilities. The personal information on these records relates to medical providers. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Content may include name, address, practice location, banking details and ACN details. Sensitive content may include bank account details, ACN details and payments received. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia state headquarters. The records are kept on paper and computer media. They are kept for 7 years after registration processing is complete (for closed practices). Open files are kept active indefinitely. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Manager, GP Incentives, Rural and Hearing Services Programs on (02) 6124 6390 or the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. 13,354 Service Incentive Payments were calculated as part of the May 2009 calculation. This number fluctuates from calculation to calculation.


Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and State Headquarters, South Australia.


61. PRACTICE INCENTIVES PROGRAM (PIP) – Access Database The purpose of these records is to store: practice level information for practices registered with the Practice Incentives Program (PIP), the General Practice Immunisation Incentives (GPII), and to record mail received, the location of the practice file, and to identify practice information requested by staff. Content may include: practice identification number, date the practice applied for the program, application type eg PIP or GPII, practice details, comprising the practice name, practice contact person/s, practice address, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, email address, accreditation status, specific incentive/element confirmation status, file location/work status, staff operator name, date amendment received, text box that can comprise of practice information and staff details requesting further practice information. The personal information on these records relates to the names of general practitioners, practice owners and administration staff working in the practices registered with PIP and GPII as authorised contact person/s. Sensitive content may include: recovery details and (audit) findings of inappropriate and fraud convictions, ownership status/disputes. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch operations section in South Australia State Headquarters. These records are kept solely for the purpose of the fore mentioned information, no external individuals, owner, proprietor or contact person/s have access to this information. The records are kept active on computer media indefinitely. Location: Access database held in State Headquarter in South Australia, 209 Greenhill Rd, Eastwood, SA 5063 62. GENERAL PRACTICE IMMUNISATION INCENTIVES (GPII) The purpose of these records is to determine the eligibility of a practice to receive an Outcomes payment and to keep an accurate record of practice arrangements and practitioner details, for mail outs of statements and reports, and ad-hoc mail outs. The personal information on these records relates to the ownership of a practice and the practitioners practicing at that location. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the nominated person at the practice or at the Department of Health and Ageing. Content may include name, address and provider number. Sensitive content may include bank account details, payment details and ABN details. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia and Tasmania state headquarters. The records are kept on paper and computer media and are kept for 7 years after registration processing is complete (for closed practices), open files are kept active. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records related to approximately 950 GPII practices and 5000 PIP practices. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and State Headquarters, South Australia

and Tasmania. Data from the paper records is extracted and held on the computer mainframe network and Internet Explorer. Main Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

63. GENERAL PRACTICE IMMUNISATION INCENTIVES (GPII) - Section 46E Agreement


The Section 46E is a privacy agreement that provides access to identified child information. All providers at a practice must sign an agreement before the practice can receive child information via the GPII020A Practice Report. The GPII020A Practice report is addressed to a nominated person at the practice. This person is responsible for the security of this report. The report content includes child name, Medicare number and address information, vaccination history, provider name, provider number, practice name and practice address. The following staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Associate Government Programs Branch in National Office, authorised staff in the Program Review Division and operations staff in South Australia and Tasmania state headquarters. The records are kept on paper and computer media and are kept for 7 years after registration processing is complete (for closed practices), open files are kept active. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 33,000 providers. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia’s National Office and TAS State Headquarters. Data from

the paper records is extracted and held on the computer mainframe network and Internet Explorer. Main Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

64. MEDICARE TEEN DENTAL PLAN On 1 July 2008, the Australian Government introduced the Medicare Teen Dental Plan to help with the cost of an annual preventative dental check. This is an Australian Government initiative aiming to make it more affordable for families to keep their teenager’s teeth in good health. The plan enables each eligible teenager or the family/carer of an eligible teenager, to claim a single benefit of up to $153.45 (indexed annually) each calendar year for a preventive dental check. From 1 January 2009 the eligibility criteria was changed to include five additional Centrelink payments and two financial assistance payments administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). Teenagers who are eligible to claim Medicare benefits and aged 12–17 years: receiving ABSTUDY, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, Parenting Payment, Special Benefit, Youth Allowance; or whose family/carer/guardian receives Family Tax Benefit Part A (FTB-A), or Parenting Payment, or the Double Orphan Pension for the teenager; or whose partner receives FTB-A or Parenting Payment; or 16 or older and receiving financial assistance under the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme (VCES) or the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS) from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. To be eligible for the Plan, a teenager must have been issued with a voucher by Medicare Australia. Currently, around 1.3 million teenagers are eligible for the Plan each year. Client eligibility data is provided by Centrelink and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (‘the DVA’). New legislation in the form of the Dental Benefits Act 2008 (the Dental Act) came into effect on 1 July 2008. The Dental Act has an associated Dental Benefits Schedule as well as a set of Dental Benefits Rules 2008 (the Dental Rules). The Dental Benefits (Consequential Amendments) Act 2008 ensured amendment of other affected legislation, including the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the HIA). 65. COMMUNITY PHARMACY AGREEMENT INTRANET DATABASE The purpose of these records is to record applications and approvals for the various allowances and payments available to pharmacists and accredited service providers under the Community Pharmacy Agreement. Content may include name, address, occupation, hours of operation and payment details. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists and accredited service providers. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and its State office counterparts. The records are kept permanently in accordance with RA 20203.


Some of this information is disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong ACT 2901. The records relate to approximately 6,000 individuals/pharmacies. Location: National Office and South Australian State Headquarters hold Paper records; computer records are access

via Personal Computers within Medicare Australia intranet. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

66. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN VISITING MEDICAL PRACITIONERS (WA VMP's) CLAIMS

HISTORY RECORD The purpose of these records is to gather relevant details and assess invoices submitted by the WA VMP's for quality health management information. Content may include: name, date of birth, gender, Medicare card number, Medicare Benefits Schedule item number, Western Australian Government Medical Services Schedule item number, date of service, provider number, servicing hospital, date of admission and date of discharge. Sensitive content may include: services rendered, payment and benefit details. The personal information on these records relates to persons who have received services from VMP's in non-teaching public hospitals in WA. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare operational staff; and Medicare Australia State Office counterparts. These records are retained permanently. Most of this information is disclosed to the Department of Health WA as the benefits being paid are State funds. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Department of Health Western Australia The records relate to approximately 2,079,000 service/history lines and are stored on computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900. 67. SPECIALISED DRUG PATIENT DATABASE The purpose of these records is to identify patients and collect medical and pathology information supporting the patient’s eligibility to receive specialised drugs. Personal information is used solely to determine the patient's eligibility to receive the specialised drug. Section 85 and section 100 of the National Health Act 1953 applies where the specialised drug (eg. imatinib mesylate (Glivec®), infliximab (Remicade®), trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for early stage breast cancer) is part of the PBS. Where the specialised drug is Herceptin for late stage breast cancer, a Services Agreement (enabled under subsection 7(2) of the Medicare Australia Act 1973) applies. Content may include: patient's name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, Medicare Card number, weight, details of condition, medication, doctor's name, address, provider number, telephone and fax numbers. In some cases hospital name and provider number (eg. infliximab) and immunohistological evidence of specific types of cancer and other pathology results might also be recorded, depending on the disease being treated. Sensitive content may include: physical health. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists, prescribers, pathology sites and eligible patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and authorised State Office staff; PBS and Specialised Drugs Unit, Tasmania and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State Office counterparts.


The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. The records are kept in two forms: paper records such as authority approval applications and accompanying documentation; and computer records which are held for 50 years in accordance with RA 20167. The records relate to approximately 49,169 individuals and are stored on paper and computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Information Release Section, Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Location: Paper records are held at Medicare Australia's Tasmania office, 242 Liverpool Street, Hobart Tasmania

7000. Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia's network. 68. RURAL INCENTIVE PROGRAMS The purpose of these records is to record details of rural providers potentially eligible to receive payment under the four rural programs as listed below as items (a) to (d). The following agency staff have access to this information: staff members of the Rural Program Team in National Office and South Australia. The records are kept permanently on computer media at Medicare Australia’s National office. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing, State and Territory based Rural Workforce agencies and the RACGP and ACRRM. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Manager, GP Incentives, Rural and Hearing Services Programs on (02) 6124 6390 or the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. Location: Paper records are held at Medicare Australia. Main Location: South Australian State Office, 209 Greenhill

Road, Eastwood SA 5063. Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia network.

(a) Rural Retention Program Content may include bank details, Medicare service summary data and rural retention calculation data. Sensitive content may include financial information. The personal information on these records relates to rural medical providers. The records relate to approximately 28618 individuals as at June 2009. (b) General Practice Registrars’ Rural Incentive Payments Scheme Content may include: name, address, provider number, banking details, rural classification payment details, postal address, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, mobile number, email address, supervisor details (including telephone number, fax number and email), and training provider. The records relate to approximately 1665 individuals as at June 2009. (c) HECS Reimbursement Scheme Content may include: name, address, provider number, banking details, rural classification payment details, postal address, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, mobile number, email address, supervisor details (including telephone number, fax number and email), tax file numbers and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical graduates practicing in rural locations. The records relate to approximately 1027 individuals as at June 2009. (d) Training for Rural and Remote Procedural GPs.


Content may include name, address, bank details, training location details, training provider details and contact phone numbers. The records relate to approximately 2638 individuals as at June 2009. 69. DVA VETERAN REGISTRATION (CROSS REFERENCE FILE) The purpose of these records is to enrol and identify eligible persons for the purpose of making payments under the Veterans Entitlement Act 1986 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 on behalf of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, veteran’s entitlement card number, entitlement start date, disability of white card holders, Medicare (or pseudo) PINs, POW indicator, and card type. Sensitive content may include: actual disability of white card holders. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare Australia operational, policy, business and IT staff. The computer records are kept for 5 years from date of the individual’s death. This information is generally not disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting DVA National or State offices; the State Manager, Medicare Australia in the appropriate State, Information Release Section in National Office on 6124 6333 or Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Note that only DVA can authorise release of information. Approximately 1.2 million records are held relating to eligible veterans and their dependants. Location: Paper records are held by DVA. Computer records are accessed via computer terminals within the

Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

70. DVA CLAIMS HISTORY RECORDS The purpose of these records is to assess and record claims and benefits paid under the Veterans Entitlement Act 1986 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 on behalf of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The records can also be used for audits, reporting, policy and financial planning and billing purposes. Content may include: name, address, veteran’s entitlement card number, Medicare Benefits Schedule item number, other associated item numbers specific to DVA claims, date of service and provider number of rendering practitioner, payment details, processing details, benefit details, and provider number of requesting practitioner for any specialist service including pathology services. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, payment and benefit details. The personal information on these records relate to persons enrolled under the above legislation for which an expense for a professional services has been incurred and claimed under the above legislation. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised Medicare Australia operational, policy and IT staff, authorised staff of the Financial Management Group, the Freedom of Information Officer. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Generally, claim forms and accompanying documentation or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transactions or scanned images of documents are held for 2 years after final payment of claim and are then destroyed in accordance with RA 20173; computer records of processed claims are held for less than five years in accordance with RA 20203. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting DVA National or State offices; the State Manager, Medicare Australia in the appropriate State, Information Release Section in National Office on 6124 6333 or Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Note that only DVA can authorise release of information.


The records relate to approximately 308,110 eligible veterans and their dependants and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed via computer

terminals within the Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

71. BOTULINUM TOXIN PROGRAM The purpose of these records is to maintain patient treatment detail under the Botulinum Toxin Program administered in accordance with the National Health Act 1953. The personal information on these records relates to patients under the Botulinum Toxin Program. Sensitive content may include patient's name address, gender, date of service, Medicare card number, name of medication, strength of medication, quantity of medication, collection of medical information supporting the patient’s eligibility to receive the drug, supplier's name, doctor’s name, address and provider number. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and authorised State Office staff; the PBS & Specialised Drug Unit, Tasmania, authorised staff of Program Review Division and its State Office counterparts. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. The records are kept for 50 years in accordance with RA 20167. Medicare Australia cannot accurately report on the number of individuals accessing this program. The records are kept in two forms, paper and computer media. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia's Tasmania office, 242 Liverpool Street, Hobart Tasmania

7000. Electronic records are accessed via computer terminals within Medicare Australia's network, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

72. TRASTUZUMAB (Herceptin®) The purpose of these records is to identify patients and collect medical and pathology information supporting the patient’s need for the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin®). The trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for late stage breast cancer program is administered by a Service Arrangement between Medicare Australia and The Department of Health and Ageing (under subsection 7(2) of the Medicare Australia Act 1973). The trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for early stage breast cancer program is administered under Section 100 Special Authority program of the National Health Act 1973). Personal information is used solely to determine the patient’s eligibility to receive trastuzumab (Herceptin®). The records for trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for late stage breast cancer relate to approximately 3,449 individuals and are stored on paper and computer media. The records for trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for early stage breast cancer relate to approximately 4,318 individuals and are stored on paper and computer media. The personal information on these records relates to pharmacists, prescribers, pathology sites and eligible patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division and authorised State Office staff; PBS & Specialised Drugs Unit, Tasmania; and authorised staff of the Program Review Division and its State Office counterparts. The personal information contained in these records may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Content may include: patient's name, date of birth, entitlement number, gender, weight and immunohistological evidence of specific types of cancer.


Sensitive content may include: patient's physical health and the reason the patient has ceased treatment These records are kept in two forms, paper records such as written applications and accompanying documentation and computer media. The records are kept for 50 years in accordance with RA 20167. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by phoning the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to Medicare Australia PO Box 1001 Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Location: Paper records are held in Medicare Australia's Tasmania office, 242 Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania

7000 and via computer terminals in these Offices. 73. BOWEL CANCER SCREENING REGISTER The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (Program) commenced in August 2006. During the first phase invitations to participate were issued to eligible Australians turning 55 or 65 years of age between 1 May 2006 and 30 June 2008, as well as those who were involved in the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot Program. The Pilot Program ran from November 2002 to June 2005. All records from the Pilot Program were transferred to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Register (Register) at the commencement of the first phase of the National Program. The second phase of the Program commenced on 1 July 2008, and offers testing to people turning 50, 55 and 65 years of age between January 2008 and December 2010. Medicare Australia’s role in the Program is to administer, and assist with the administration of aspects of the Program conducted by, or on behalf of the Australian Government (Department of Health and Ageing). As part of the program Medicare Australia administers the Register , operates the Program Information Line and Information Manager service. The Register issues invitations to participate in the Program, records participants' details including screening history, FOBT and colonoscopy results as well as issuing reminder letters to participants and their nominated doctor/medical practice. The Program Information Line provides information regarding the Program to the general public and medical practitioners during business hours. The Information Manager service encourages participants with a positive FOBT result to complete the screening pathway. The purpose of the records held on the Register is to invite the target population to undertake screening and attending for appropriate treatment; assist the Department of Health and Ageing in data collection and the monitoring and evaluation of the Program. Content of the Register includes name, address, date of birth, gender, screening and detection history in relation to bowel cancer screening and clinical data. Sensitive content may include physical health details, racial or ethnic origin, and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to participants who were invited to undertake bowel cancer screening and health professionals involved in their screening pathway. The following agency staff have access to this information: call centre staff based in Hobart, Tasmania, Policy and Development staff in National Office, information managers based in National Office and State Headquarters and Participant follow-up officers located in State/Territory Health Departments. The personal information contained in these records is disclosed to:

• the Department of Health and Ageing ; • the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (de-identified information); • employees in the bowel cancer screening area of State/Territory Governments and to participants’ nominated

General Practitioner (name, contact and screening details); • participant follow up officers located in State/Territory Health Departments (consumer id, name, gender, date

of birth, address, screening details) • Dorevitch Pathology Laboratory (consumer id, name, gender, date of birth, address).

Individuals are able to obtain information regarding access to personal information in this class of records by contacting the Program Information Line: 1800 118 868.


The records relate to approximately 1,822,127 individuals as at 30 May 2009. Records are kept indefinitely and will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Location: The records are kept permanently on paper and computer media at Medicare Australia’s National Office,

134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900 and Hobart Office, 242 Liverpool St, Hobart TAS 7000. 74. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME

• BALIMED • Tsunami Healthcare Assistance • Bali 2005 Special Assistance • London Assist • Dahab Egypt Bombing Healthcare Costs Assistance

The purpose of these records is to establish and record entitlement to benefits under the Special Assistance Scheme. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, Medicare number, Electronic Funds transfer details, Health Fund details, Provider, Allied Health and /or Pharmacy details. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, payment and benefit details. The personal information in these records relate to persons enrolled in the Special Assistance Scheme for whom an expense has been incurred for a professional or eligible service which Special Assistance Scheme benefits have been paid. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised Western Australian Medicare operational staff and selected National Office staff only. The records are kept in both electronic and paper media, which are retained indefinitely. Medicare Australia does not have a RA in place for these records due to the extent of this assistance being determined by the Commonwealth, as exercised by the Department of Health and Ageing and Medicare Australia. The personal information in these records may be released to; The Department of Health and Ageing, Family and Community Services, and other relevant agencies. The records relate to approximately 1354 registrations in total and are kept with the Operational Division in Western Australia. These records are kept in both paper and electronic media and are retained indefinitely. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by writing to the: Manager Information Release Section, PO Box 9822 in your Capital City. Location: Medicare Australia, The Bankwest Tower, 11th Floor, 108 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000. Medicare

Australia, GPO Box 9822, Perth WA 6848 75. CO- ORDINATED CARE TRIALS The purpose of these records is to enable Medicare Australia to identify individuals who have consented to participate in the Coordinated Care Trial (CCT) project and have also consented to the release of their personal Medicare and PBS information. The CCT secure web-based system (the system) was developed to improve access to Medicare and PBS information and to enable Trial projects to manage their participants online, this includes the ability to validate, add, and withdraw participants. To validate participants online, information is sourced via the system from the Medicare enrolment file and cross-referenced against the Department of Veteran Affairs file. The system produces and stores Medicare and PBS line-by-line and summary reports to provide financial and participant service utilisation information to the Trials. Line by line data is available in identifiable or de-identifiable format depending on the system user’s access profile. The Department of Health and Ageing and the Trial Evaluators (PricewaterhouseCoopers) have access to de-identified information, whereas each Trial has access to identifiable information for participants within their own Trial. Medicare information is sourced from the Medicare claims files and PBS information is sourced from the Enterprise Data Warehouse PBS claims files. The content includes Medicare numbers, personal identification numbers, date of birth, given names, gender, address details, and Medicare and PBS financial and service utilisation information.


Authorised CCT Project Team members, the Trial projects, the Department of Health and Ageing, and PricewaterhouseCoopers have access to the data. The records relate to approximately 10,000 consenting Trial participants. All records maintained by Medicare Australia are stored electronically on DB2 tables. The hard copy of the consent forms, containing personal information, is maintained by each Trial under the Tripartite Agreement. The agreement outlines the obligations of each party to maintain and appropriately store personal information. The records will be stored on the CCT DB2 tables for 2 years after the evaluation process for the second round CCT projects. The CCT trials were completed in December 2005. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Information Release Section on 6124 6333 or by writing to PO Box 1001, Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. Location: The system records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway

ACT 2900. 76. DOCUMENTS CREATED WITHIN OR RECEIVED BY OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL IN

PERFORMING ITS ROLE OF PROVIDING IN-HOUSE LEGAL ADVICE AND LEGAL SERVICES The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) receives, creates and holds personal information and other details necessary to enable the lawyers and support staff of OLC to perform their role as the in-house legal advisers and legal service providers within Medicare Australia. In this context, any record held by any area of Medicare Australia may be given to OLC for the purposes of obtaining professional legal advice or professional legal service. Content may include any of the information referred to in any of the categories of records identified under this Personal Information Digest and is determined by the nature of the request for legal advice or the legal issue involved. Personal and sensitive information may include: medical details including patient history and physical or mental health, marital status, partnership details, sexual orientation, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, financial information, tax file number details, payment and benefit details, criminal convictions, criminal intelligence, details of professional, financial or business relationships, medical servicing patterns and extrapolations from the fact of prescription of certain medications. The personal information relates to the need of Medicare Australia to receive professional legal advice and professional legal services. It therefore relates potentially to any area of Medicare Australia and may include any personal information held or acquired throughout the entire agency. Medicare Australia staff who have routine access to the Office of Legal Counsel’s information are the lawyers and legal support staff of the Office. Access is on a strictly need-to-know basis. The information may be passed on to senior staff of Medicare Australia as and when necessary and appropriate as part of a process of providing advice. The records are retained for a minimum of 10 years in accordance with AFDA. Personal information is not routinely passed to any other body or agency. It may be passed on in specific cases if there is a need to brief counsel or instruct a private solicitor or the Attorney-General's Department. In these cases, the personal information is protected by the fiduciary obligations and attracts legal professional privilege. If another area within Medicare Australia were to seek access to the Office of Legal Counsel’s records, legal professional privilege would be used as the basis to deny access. Where litigation is involved, it may be made available to a court of law or other tribunal. These forums are open to the public unless they are subject to in camera or suppression orders. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer. Ph: (02) 6124 6333 The records relate to a potentially large number of individuals and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 77. INFORMATION REQUEST TRACKING SYSTEM (IRT)


The purpose of this electronic database is to record details of all information requests received from internal or external sources. Details of any conditions associated with the release of approved requests are also captured in the database. Requests not approved for release also reflect the reason/s associated with decision. The personal Information on these records relates to the individual requesting information. It is not possible to determine the precise volume of records as the counts on the IRT relate to the number of individual requests received. ie: it is not unusual for one person/organisation to submit several requests for information. Content may include: gender, name, address, telephone number, fax number, email address, occupation and organisation. Sensitive content may include: fee charged and purpose of request. The following agency staff have access to this information: Authorised staff in Program Review Division, Legal Privacy and Information Services Branch and authorised state office staff. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. The only situation is when the data requested is greater than 5 years old, in which case it may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Records are retained for ten years. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Team Leader, Client Liaison Unit on 1800 101 099 Location: The records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900. 78. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FILES The purpose of these records is to maintain a record of correspondence received by the Freedom of Information Officer and to process requests received under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, names and status of partners or relatives. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health records, criminal convictions, criminal intelligence, financial information and relationship details. The personal information on these records relates to persons seeking access to documents in the possession of Medicare Australia and, in some cases, other persons about whom the requested documents relate. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: staff involved in the processing of Freedom of Information requests. Records relating to FOI requests are kept for varying periods, depending on the nature of the inquiry and action taken - (eg kept for 1 year and then destroyed) in accordance with Administrative Function Disposal Authority (AFDA) classifications. Information that complies with the FOI Act can be released to the applicant. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. As at the 30 June 2009, the records for this financial year relate to 31 FOI requests and 2 request for review. These records are stored on paper and electronic media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street Nth Street, Greenway, ACT 2901. 79. IRIS DATABASE (INDIVIDUAL REQUEST INFORMATION SYSTEM) and STATE

INFORMATION REQUEST DATABASES. Medicare Australia annually receives numerous requests for personal information. Requests received and actioned in the National Office are recorded on the IRIS database, while those actioned in the State offices are recorded on similar databases maintained in those offices.


The purpose of these databases is to record personal information received in requests made to Medicare Australia for access to personal Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) information. These databases provide for the logging and management of requests for the release of personal information relating to individuals in respect of information held under programs administered by Medicare Australia. These requests usually relate to the Medicare Program and PBS. Requests for the release of personal information (Information Release requests) are generally made under the Health Insurance Act 1973, in relation to Medicare and the National Health Act 1953 in relation to the PBS. Personal information on these records relates to individuals including general members of the public, doctors and pharmacists. These databases record the following personal information in relation to ‘requestors’: name; organisation; address; phone and facsimile numbers. Personal information regarding the person whose information is being requested is: name; address; date of birth, and Medicare card number. On occasion telephone numbers for people are recorded. Sensitive content included on the IRIS database may include: Criminal intelligence information, (including the nature of offence(s)), criminal convictions and penalties may be included in comments field of IRIS, where these have been included in original request (if from police). Financial details may be recorded in IRIS if included in original request for information about health service providers. Relationship details may be recorded in IRIS where these have been included in an original request for information, or where obtained as additional information, generally from police. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: specified members of the Privacy and Information Release Section. Specified members of State Release of Information Teams have access to their relevant databases. This information is not usually disclosed to other people or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding their personal details contained in the IRIS database by submitting a request in writing to: The Manager, Privacy & Information Release, Medicare Australia, PO Box 1001, Tuggeranong DC ACT 2901. The total number of records recorded in IRIS and the relevant State computer databases, is about 78,000 as at 30 June 2009. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900 and each State Headquarters. 80. LSAC DATABASE The purpose of these records is to record contact details for consumers who were selected for invitation to participate in the “Growing Up In Australia” Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and to record any responses received from those consumers. The selection process was conducted in 5 phases, commencing in June 2003 and was completed in August 2004. The personal information on these records relates to consumers randomly selected from the Medicare database, who have a child within the targeted age range for participation in LSAC. Content may include: name, address, name of child, telephone numbers (only if supplied by consumer), comments made by consumer (only if supplied by consumer). Sensitive content may include comments about health or living arrangements of selected child (only if supplied by consumer). The following Agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff in the Legal, Privacy and Information Services Branch. Some of this information was disclosed to: I-View, the LSAC data collection agency as a one-off release at the end of each selection phase. Contact details of consumers who did not opt-out of the study were disclosed to I-View, to enable them to make contact with those consumers. The records relate to about 20,000 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer and paper media. The records will be kept until LSAC study has been completed – which at this stage is 2010, but this may be extended in the future.


Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Privacy and Information Release Section on (02) 6124 7172. Location: Paper files are maintained in locked cabinets in Privacy and Information Release Section. Electronic files

are held in separate Privacy area of the Medicare Australia network, accessed via computer terminals in National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

81. CORPORATE DIRECTORY DATABASE The purpose of these records is to provide a Corporate Directory to employees (in a central electronic location) of easily accessible non-sensitive information about employees for contact and recognition purposes. The personal information on these records relates to permanent and temporary employees, internal and external contractors (eg IBM staff). Content may include: name, occupation, phone and fax numbers. Other additional information currently contained in these records include user ID number, Manager, organisational and location details and photograph (unless the employee requests this not to be included). External contractors (IBM staff) also have access to information contained in the Corporate Directory through their contractual access to Medicare Australia technological infrastructure. All internal staff and contractors at all levels have access to the Corporate Directory on the Medicare Australia computer network. There are currently 7,367 records in the Corporate Directory database as at 25 June 2009. This incorporates 5935 personal documents (individual staff members) and 1432 PABX (phone details) documents. The information is stored on a Lotus Notes database located on a Medicare Australia secure server. The records are not kept permanently; they are kept until the individuals’ cessation of employment or contractual arrangement. Access to the Corporate Directory is available via computer terminals nationally throughout Medicare Australia: Medicare offices, Contact Centres, State Headquarters and National Office building. Phone number (PABX) information is physically located through Optus in Queensland. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 82. INFORMATION DELIVERY SERVICES The Information Delivery Team maintain records for Medicare Service, PBS scripts and address information relevant to providers, pharmacies and consumers who are selected for mailout purposes. The content may also include provider numbers, prescriber numbers, provider practice location identifiers, consumer identification numbers, consumer card numbers and pharmacy approval identification numbers. Information of this nature is kept for reporting, analysis and audit purposes on the local area network or in TRIM, in Medicare Australia’s National Office. The Information Delivery Team also records address information, and a barcode reference specific for mailout projects conducted by the Team. These records are kept for return mail processing, reporting and investigation in an access database on the local area network, in Medicare Australia’s National Office. These records are only available to staff of the Information Delivery Team or to Medicare Australia staff upon request to the Section Manager, Information Strategy and Delivery Section. Information of this nature will be released to an external service provider that has a Deed of Undertaking with Medicare Australia in place. The arrangements for destruction of the data are stated in the Deed of Undertaking. The number of records generated is approximately 1.2 million per year and the data will be retained for a period of 5 years unless advised otherwise.


Location: National Office, 134 Reed St North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 83. MEDICAL INDEMNITY PROGRAM 71(a) Incurred but Not Reported (IBNR) Claims The purpose of these records is to register and assess claims for payment, under the IBNR Indemnity Scheme, from the insurers of eligible medical providers who have a claim(s) against them. Content may include the name of the insurer, medical practitioner and claimant, details of the claims (accounts, patient history and various court documents) and payments made or being made. Sensitive content may include physical and mental health disabilities, patient information and financial documentation. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff in Associate Government Programs, audit compliance staff in Program Review Division, Office of Legal Council; and operational staff in Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters. The records are kept for up to 50 years in accordance with RA 20174. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Government Actuary; and DLA Phillips Fox Solicitors. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Medical Indemnity Section of Medicare Australia on Ph: 1800 813 167, or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Electronic records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT

2900. Paper records are held at Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters at 242 Liverpool Street Hobart, 7000.

71(b) High Cost Claims The purpose of these records is to register and assess claims for payment, under the High Cost Claims Scheme, from the insurers of eligible medical providers who have a claim(s) against them, which exceed a threshold amount set by regulation under the Medical Indemnity Act 2002. Content may include the name of the insurer, medical practitioner and claimant, details of the claims (accounts, patient history and court documents) and details of payments made or being made. Sensitive content may include physical and mental health disabilities or medical misadventure outcomes, patient information, indemnity insurer provider commercial documents and financial documentation. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff in Associate Government Programs, audit compliance staff in Program Review Division, Office of Legal Council; and operational staff in Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters. Electronic records may be accessed by the Tasmanian Contact Centre. Records will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Government Actuary; and DLA Phillips Fox Solicitors. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Medical Indemnity Section of Medicare Australia on Ph: 1800 813 167, or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Electronic and paper records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North,

Greenway ACT 2900. 71(c) Run-off Cover Scheme – Claims The purpose of these records is to register and assess claims for payment, under the Run-off Cover Scheme, from the insurers of eligible medical providers that are no longer in private medical practice or deceased, who have a claim(s) against them.


Content may include the name of the insurer, medical practitioner and claimant, details of the claim(s) (accounts, patient history and court documents) and details of payments being made or made. Sensitive content may include physical and mental health disabilities or medical misadventure outcomes, patient information, indemnity insurer provider commercial documents and financial documentation. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff in Associate Government Programs, audit compliance staff in Program Review Division, Office of Legal Council and Operational staff in Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters. Records will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Government Actuary; and DLA Phillips Fox Solicitors. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Medical Indemnity Section of Medicare Australia on Ph: 1800 813 167, or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. Location: Electronic and paper records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North,

Greenway ACT 2900. Electronic records may be accessed by the Tasmanian Contact Centre and staff in National Office.

71(d) Run-off Cover Scheme Support Payments The purpose of these records is to record eligible persons and to identify their payment liability and status. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of Run-off Cover Scheme Support Payments. Content may include the name, address, Medicare provider number, date of birth, contact details, medical indemnity insurer, professional type, length of liability, eligibility status and payment details. Sensitive content may include: personal and business financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, medical defence organisations and medical indemnity insurers. Some of this information is disclosed to: Medical defence organisations, Medical indemnity insurers, the Department of Health and Ageing; and the Australian Government Actuary. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised policy staff in Associate Government Programs, ITOP support staff in IT Operations and Projects Division; staff in Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters and compliance audit staff in Program Review Division The records relate to approximately 60,000 individuals and are stored on computer media. Records will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Location: Electronic records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT

2900. 71(e) Premium Support Scheme The purpose of these records is to record eligible persons and to identify their subsidy payment eligibility and status. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of the Premium Support Scheme. Content may include: name, address, Medicare provider number, date of birth, contact details, estimated and actual income details, medical indemnity insurer, professional type, eligibility status and payment details and practitioner UMP Support Payment liability if applicable. Sensitive content may include the financial information related to medical indemnity cover and medical services rendered information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, medical defence organisations and medical indemnity insurers. Some of this information is disclosed to: Medical indemnity organisations, Medical indemnity insurers, the Department of Health and Ageing; Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and the Australian Government Actuary.


The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised policy staff in Associate Government Programs, ITOP support staff in IT Operations and Projects Division, compliance audit staff in Program Review Division; staff in Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters, and business analysts from the AGP Development Section of the Customer Service Division. The records relate to approximately 5400 individuals and are stored on computer. Records will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Location: Electronic records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT

2900. 71(f) UMP Support Payments The purpose of these records is to record eligible persons and to identify their payment liability and status. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of UMP Support Payments. Content may include the name, address, date of birth, contact details, income details, medical indemnity insurer, professional type, length of liability, eligibility status and payment details. Sensitive content may include information related to disabilities and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, allied health professionals, medical defence organisations and medical indemnity insurers. Some of this information is disclosed to: Medical defence organisations, Medical indemnity insurers, the Department of Health and Ageing; the Australian Government Actuary and the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The following agency staff has access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Associate Government Programs Branch, the Tasmanian Medical Indemnity Contact Centre, NSW Finance team, ITOP support staff in IT Operations and Projects Division, business analysts from the AGP Development Section of the Customer Service Division, and compliance audit staff in program Review Division. The records relate to approximately 38,000 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. UMP Support Payment arrangements end 1 November 2008 , although collections continue into 2009. The UMP SP system is referenced for the purpose of determining eligibility to the Premium Support Scheme. Records will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Location: Electronic records are kept at Medicare Australia’s National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT

2900. Paper records are held at Medicare Australia’s Tasmanian State Headquarters at 242 Liverpool Street Hobart, TAS 7000.

71(g) Record Run off Cover Contribution (ROCS) Data Premium Support Scheme (PSS) Subsidy Data UMP Support Payment (UMP SP) liabilities and receipt of payments Premium Support Scheme 2004 and 2007 as amended The purpose of these records is to: accept ROCS contribution data; pay PSS subsidies; to invoice UMP SP liabilities to individual practitioners and via their Medical Indemnity Insurers and to pay Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) claims. Medicare Australia is required to keep a record of all ROCS contributions as collected from Insurers on behalf of their members. Medicare Australia will be responsible, as deemed necessary, to issue a ROCS statement to each ROCS member and to provide data to the Actuary. Information relating to PSS is also retained for internal and external audit purposes. These records are kept in accordance with the following legislation:

• Medical Indemnity Act 2002; • ROCS Support Payment 2004; and • Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Products Standards) Act 2003

Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender. Medicare Australia also collects Practitioners Medical Indemnity Premium Costs, working status, Practitioner’s specialty codes and information relevant to a practitioners working history as it relates to their medical indemnity insurance. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities and financial information.


This information is used for: • Reporting to the Actuary; • Reporting to Department of Health and Ageing; • Assessing Medical Indemnity claims for payments; and • Assessing PSS claims for payment; and • Assessing the UMP SP system for the purpose of determining eligibility to the PSS.

The personal information on these records relates to Medical Practitioners. Some of this information is disclosed to Medical Indemnity Insurers in respect of UMP Support Payment liability. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: all Medicare Australia Medical Indemnity staff from ASO3 to EL2. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Medical Indemnity Contact Centre, Ph: 1800 813 167. These records relate to about 132,000 individuals stored on computer media. These records are kept permanently and are archived after 5 years for PSS information, and 8 years for UMP SP information. Location: Electronic records via computer terminals at National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

Paper records held at 134 Reed St North, Greenway ACT 2900. 84. MEDICARE LSPN REGISTER (LOCATION SPECIFIC PRACTICE NUMBER) The purpose of these records is to identify practice sites and bases for mobile equipment where Diagnostic Imaging procedures and Radiation Oncology services are undertaken. The personal information on these records relates to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) eligible providers only, Authorised Representatives of practice site and main proprietors e.g. sole trader, company or partnership. The type of personal information held includes: name, address and mainly practice sites details but also business and proprietor details and equipment details. Sensitive content includes business ownership (financial relationship). The format includes paper and computer media as well as an extract of register on Internet (required by legislation). The records relate to 5228 individuals as at: 14 July 2009 and are retained permanently. About 4,500 of these are currently active. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised State and National office Provider liaison staff. Some of the information is disclosed to Department of Health and Ageing and to the public as the LSPN Register is accessible on the Medicare Australia website. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333 or the LSPN Enquiry hotline staff on 1800 620 589.

Location: Via computer terminals in branch offices, Internet, Intranet, and physical filing cabinets. National Office,

134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 85. MEDICARE BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FILE The purpose of these records is to comply with sections 19A and 3C of the Health Insurance Act 1973. The functions of the Committee are to consider references to it by the Minister for Health and Ageing relating to whether Medicare benefits should be payable for a particular procedure or treatment. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, medical condition, practitioner's name, practitioner's address and practitioner's occupation.


Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, sexual life, religious affiliations, details of medical procedures, photographs pertaining to medical conditions and procedures. The personal information on these records relates to claimants and treating practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Assessing Section, Medical Advisers and Manager Medicare & VAP Branch. The records are retained permanently in accordance with AFDA. Some of this information is disclosed to members of the Medical Benefit Advisory Committee (MBAC). Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer. Ph: (02) 6124 6333. However, clinical information provided by practitioners relating to their patients can only be released following written permission from that practitioner. The records relate to approximately 8,437 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 86. MEDICAL BENEFITS (DENTAL PRACTITIONERS) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FILE These records relate to the above Committee in its role of recommending to the Minister for Health and Ageing, the names of dental practitioners it considers should be recognised for payment of Medicare benefits for certain professional dental services. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, place of practice, previous dental practices, education and medical/dental qualifications, training and experience. Sensitive content may include: country of origin. The personal information on these records relates to dental practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members, Committee secretariat staff, Manager Medicare and VAP Branch, and the Manager Medicare Eligibility. The Committee records are kept for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167. Some of this information is disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 940 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 87. MEDICAL BENEFITS (DENTAL PRACTITIONERS) APPEAL COMMITTEE FILE These records relate to the Medical Benefits (Dental Practitioners) Appeal Committee with the purpose being to approve or accredit dental practitioners under the Health Insurance Act 1973 so that such professional dental services attract Medicare rebate for certain patients. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, medical/dental qualifications, past and present dental practices, education and training and experience. Sensitive content may include: country of origin. The personal information on these records relates to dental practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this information: Committee members, Committee secretariat staff, the Manager Medicare and VAP Branch, and the Manager Medicare Eligibility.


The Committee records are kept for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167. Some of the information is disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer on (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 20 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, Act, 2900. 88. MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY - COMMITTEE FILE The purpose of these records is to enable the Medical Services Committees of Inquiry, established under the Health Insurance Act 1973, to carry out its statutory functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners and their patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretary, and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained permanently in accordance with AFDA Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch: (02) 6124 6073. The records relate to approximately 15,500 individuals are stored on paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 89. PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF ENQUIRY - COMMITTEE FILE The purpose of these records is to enable the Pharmaceutical Services Committees of Inquiry established under the National Health Act 1953, to carry out its statutory functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, financial information and pharmaceutical prescribed. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, pharmacists and their patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretary, and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records will be retained permanently in accordance with AFDA Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch on (02) 6124 6073. The records relate to approximately 15,500 individuals are stored on paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.


90. MEDICAL SERVICES REVIEW TRIBUNAL FILE The purpose of these records is to enable the Medical Services Review Tribunal, established under the Health Insurance Act 1973, to carry out its statutory functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners and their patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Tribunal members and Tribunal Secretary, and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained permanently in accordance with AFDA Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch: (02) 6124 6073. The records relate to approximately 5,400 individuals are stored on paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 91. MEDICARE PARTICIPATION REVIEW COMMITTEE FILE The purpose of these records is to enable the Medicare Participation Review Committee, established under the Health Insurance Act 1973, to carry out its statutory functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, criminal convictions and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners, optometrical practitioners and their patients. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretary, and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are kept permanently in accordance with AFDA Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Health and Ageing; State Registration Boards (medical, dental and optometrical). Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch: (02) 6124 6073. The records relate to approximately 115 individuals are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 92. OPTOMETRICAL SERVICES COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY COMMITTEE FILE The purpose of these records is to enable the Optometrical Services Committees of Inquiry, established under the Health Insurance Act 1973, to carry out its statutory functions. Content may include: name, address, date of birth and gender. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to optometrical practitioners and their patients.


The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretary, and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are kept permanently in accordance with AFDA Some of this information is disclosed to: the Minister for Health and Ageing. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch: (02) 6124 6073. The records relate to approximately 366 individuals are stored on paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 93. SPECIALIST RECOGNITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ONE FOR EACH STATE AND

TERRITORY) - COMMITTEE FILES These committees no longer exist and the purpose of these historical records is to respond to enquiries regarding recognition as a specialist or consultant physician previously considered through these committees for the purposes of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, educational qualifications, country of origin, details of past and present medical practices, details of training and experience and standing in the medical profession, residency status and section 19AB exemption issue by the Delegate of the Minister for Health and Ageing. Sensitive content may include: peer group evaluations, qualifications and racial or ethnic origin. The personal information on these records relates to specialist medical practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretariat staff, Medicare and VAP Branch staff; and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167.. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Specialist Recognition Appeal Committee (on appeal), Specialist Medical Professional Colleges, and Australian State and Territory Medical Boards. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare & DVA Branch Ph (02) 6124 6073 or the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 19,500 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 94. SPECIALIST RECOGNITION APPEAL COMMITTEE (ALL STATES AND TERRITORIES) -

COMMITTEE FILE These committees no longer exist and the purpose of these historical records is to respond to enquiries regarding recognition as a specialist or consultant physician previously considered by these committees for the purpose of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, educational qualifications, details of training and experience, country of origin, details of past and present medical practices and standing in the medical profession and section 19AB exemption details as issued by the Delegate of the Minister for Health and Ageing. Sensitive content may include: peer group evaluations, qualifications and racial or ethnic origin. The personal information on these records relates to specialist medical practitioners.


The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members, and the Committee Secretariat staff, Medicare and VAP Branch staff and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167. Some of the information is disclosed to: the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing and the Specialist Medical Colleges. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 1000 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 95. GENERAL PRACTICE RECOGNITION ELIGIBILITY COMMITTEE FILE These records relate to all dealings of the General Practice Recognition Eligibility Committee in its role of considering the eligibility of medical practitioners for Vocational Registration for the purposes of Section 3F of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, education, work history and medical qualifications. Sensitive content may include: qualifications, racial or ethnic origin. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members, and the Committee Secretariat staff, Medicare and VAP Branch staff and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167. Some of the information is disclosed to the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and General Practice Recognition Appeal Committee. Individuals can obtain access to their personal information by contacting the Manager Medicare and DVA Branch or the Freedom of Information Officer. Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 7,600 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 96. GENERAL PRACTICE RECOGNITION APPEAL COMMITTEE FILE These records relate to all dealings of the General Practice Recognition Appeal Committee in its role of providing an avenue of appeal to medical practitioner against a decision by the General Practice Recognition Eligibility Committee or the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners that the practitioner is ineligible for Vocational Registration. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, training and experience, medical qualifications and previous medical practices. Sensitive content may include qualifications and racial and ethnic origin. The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Committee members and Committee Secretariat staff. Medicare and VAP Branch staff and authorised Medicare Australia staff. The records are retained for a period of 25 years after last action completed in accordance with Records Authority Entry 20167.


Some of the information is disclosed to: the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. These records relate to approximately 2,550 individuals and are stored on computer and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 97. MINISTERIAL AND EXECUTIVE CORRESPONDENCE The purpose of these records is to maintain a record of correspondence to the Minister for Human Services or Medicare Australia Executive Management. The records may contain inquiries and comments concerning the operation of any of the programs administered by Medicare Australia. The personal information on these records relates to individuals, peak bodies, groups or other Members of Parliament who write to the Minister for Human Services, the Minister's office or Medicare Australia’s Executive Management for response. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, marital status, arrival in Australia, expected departure date, residency status, Medicare card number, statutory declaration and other information volunteered by the correspondent. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, criminal convictions, financial information, payment and benefit details, relationship details and other information volunteered by the correspondent. These records should be sentenced in accordance with the Administrative Function Disposal Authorities relating to this correspondence. Records of a routine nature are destroyed 2 years after action completed; records of an exceptional nature are retained permanently. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Parliamentary Section staff and Medicare Australia staff involved in the relevant program or subject area of the correspondence. Some of this information has formerly been disclosed to the Parliamentary section in the Department of Health and Ageing and since November 2004, to the Parliamentary section of the Department of Human Services for the purposes of maintaining correspondence records. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. As at 30 June 2009, the records relate to approximately 5000 replies to Ministerial, Commonwealth Ombudsman and other correspondence to the Executive Management of Medicare Australia. Records are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 98. PRACTITIONERS UNDER NOTICE

• under section 218 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 • under section 260-5 notice under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 • under section 72a notice under the Child Support-Registration And Collections Act 1988 • under section 139zl notice under the Bankruptcy Act 1966.

The purpose of these records is to allow Medicare Australia to make payments of Medicare benefits to the respective authority to offset taxation, child support or bankruptcy payments due by a medical practitioner, as required by the respective acts listed above. Content may include: name, address, occupation, practice locations and provider approval number. Sensitive content may include: financial information.


The personal information on these records relates to medical practitioners. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Chief Executive Officer and authorised staff from the Governance and Financial Management Division, Customer Service Strategy Branch and Public and Provider Services Division. The records are kept indefinitely and will be appraised before destruction as required under the Archives Act 1983. Some of this information is disclosed to: the Australian Taxation Office, Child Support Agency, and Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Legal, Privacy & Information Services Ph: (02) 6124 7809, the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333, or the Garnishee Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6853. The records relate to approximately 140 individuals and are stored on electronic and paper media. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

99. RESOURCE ACCESS CONTROL FACILITY USER PROFILES The purpose of these records is to control access to Medicare Australia's mainframe computer system and resources. Content may include: name, location, telephone number, Australian Government Service number and system access classification. The personal information on these records relates to Medicare Australia employees and external users of Medicare Australia's mainframe computer facilities. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised employees of the Information Technology Operations and Projects Division (ITOP) and external contractors (IBM system administrators). The records are kept for the duration of the employee's employment or until access to the computer system is no longer required. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the IT Security Section in National Office. The records relate to 6,952 individuals at 30 June 2009 and are stored on computer media. Location: Computer records are accessed via computers within Medicare Australia network. Main location: National

Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 100. e-CERTIFICATES APPLICATION MANAGER (HAM DATABASE) The purpose of these records is to store Evidence of Identity – proof of identity to capture information for the purpose of Digital Certificate key generation. Content may include name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender, marital status, ABN, ACN and provider numbers, driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, citizenship certificate, personal utility bills, employer ID card and land title documents. Sensitive content may include taxation documents including tax file number and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to employees and persons working in the health industry. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: all staff working in the eCertificates Section. These records are retained permanently.


This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Office, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 50,313 individuals as at 30 June 2009 and are kept stored on paper and computer media. Location: Computer records are accessed via eCertificates Section computers on the eCertificate server within

Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

For current applications, paper copy of Evidence of Identity stored at Actions House, 200 Scollay Street Tuggeranong. Archived records are stored at Mitchell ACT.

101. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SYSTEM The purpose of these records is to record and authorise payment of Medicare Australia's creditors. Content may include: name, address, telephone and fax numbers and email addresses. Sensitive content may include bank account details. The personal information on these records relates to vendors (suppliers). The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Financial Management Group and its State office counterparts; and other authorised Medicare Australia staff requesting the purchase of goods. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Paper records are held for 7 years and then destroyed in accordance with Administrative Function Disposal Authority; computer records are held for up to 7 years. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 587,477 individuals as at 14 July 2009 (includes companies and firms) and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed via computer


102. DEBTORS RECORDS The purpose of these records is to maintain a record of monies owed to Medicare Australia. Content may include: name, address, Medicare or Medibank card number and type of debt (eg. fraud, Victorian Transport Accident Commission, compensation case number, compensation case name, insurer name, overpayment, benefits review, etc). Sensitive content may include: tax file numbers and financial information. The personal information on these records relates to debtors of Medicare Australia. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Financial Management Group and its State office counterparts. The records are kept in two forms, which are retained for different periods. Paper records are held for 7 years and then destroyed in accordance with Administrative Function Disposal Authority, computer records are held for up to 7 years. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations.


Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer, Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 46,459 individuals as at 14 July 2009 and are stored on paper and computer media. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper records. Computer records are accessed via computer


103. ABN REPOSITORY The purpose of these records is to store ABN related information to assess whether GST or withholding should be applied to Medicare Australia program payments. Content may include: The business/trading name of the ABN, contact details (name, address, telephone number) for the ABN. Sensitive content may include: Tax file numbers, other sensitive information may include the ABN and related registration dates of the entity with which the provider is associated, an indicator as to whether the provider is tax exempt, a local government body or a “supplier not carrying on an enterprise”, an indicator as to whether the entity is registered for GST and associated dates, Medicare Australia Reference ID’s – identification numbers used by Medicare Australia such as Provider Number for medical practitioners, the Pharmacy Approval ID for chemists, and an indicator as to whether the provider has signed a Recipient Created Tax Invoice (RCTI) Agreement with Medicare Australia. The following agency staff have access to this personal information: authorised staff of the Financial Management Group and its State office counterparts. As well as authorised staff in program areas nationally. Some of this information may be disclosed to the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Health and Ageing. Records are on paper and computer media which are retained for different periods. Paper records are held for 7 years and then destroyed in accordance with Administrative Function Disposal Authority; computer records are held for up to 7 years. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to 58,600 ABN's and 171,150 Medicare Australia Reference IDs as at 14 July 2009. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 104. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 30% REBATES ON PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE The purpose of these records is to allow the validation and payment of claims for rebates under the Premium Reduction Scheme (PRS) and the Incentive Payments Scheme (IPS). Under the PRS health funds are able to claim on a monthly basis for reimbursement of premiums that have been reduced by a 30%, 35% or 40% Rebate. Under the IPS eligible claimants receive a ‘direct payment’ of the appropriate 30% Rebate when a Federal Government 30% Rebate Claim Form and a valid health fund receipt are submitted to a Medicare Office. The collection and use of this information is in line with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, address details, telephone details, Medicare card number, names and details of family members, private health insurance details (including premiums paid). The personal information on these records relates to persons (individuals, couples, families) who have and/or are covered by an ‘complying health insurance policy’ and are eligible participants as defined by the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.


The following agency staff has access to this personal information: authorised staff of Business Futures and eClaiming Division, Customer Services Division, IT Operations and Projects, Program Review Division, Business Analysis and Support Branch and Financial Control and Development Branch. Records are kept in line with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 and the Archives Act 1983. Where required and/or authorised by law this information can be disclosed to the Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Taxation Office and Registered Health Funds. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 10.5 million individuals and are stored on computer, computer disk and paper. Location: National Office and State Headquarters hold paper and computer disk; computer records are accessed via

computer terminals within the Medicare Australia network. Main location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.

105. ELECTRONIC CLAIMS Data received by Medicare Australia through the Medicare Online, Medicare Easyclaim and ECLIPSE electronic claims systems include Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and private health fund claim data. For Medicare Online and ECLIPSE data, inbound and outbound transmissions are stored in three forms: encrypted & signed, signed only and plain text. For Medicare Easyclaim, inbound and outbound transmissions are stored in plain text form only. For ECLIPSE claims this will include the health fund or DVA data that is originally provided by the provider and any information that the health fund or DVA provides back through the Medicare Australia hub. For Medicare Online and Medicare Easyclaim this will include the medical claim data provided by the provider and processing and payment information from Medicare Australia, DVA and the health funds . The purpose of retaining both the inbound and outbound messages/claim data is to provide an audit trail of the claims, the response from Medicare and/or, DVA or health fund, the final outcome, whether paid or rejected, and the reasons why. Retaining this data allows Medicare Australia to facilitate and provide:

• retransmission of claim information, where that information had been corrupted in transmission or deleted from a stakeholder system;

• information for the conduct of audits of provider, DVA or health fund accounts; • information for the patient where a dispute occurs between the patient, provider, DVA or health fund;

and • a full description of the claims submitted for an episode of care and any responses provided in relation to

that claim. These records are retrievable by Medicare Australia for the purposes listed above, or provided to authorised third parties, patients, DVA or health funds upon written request. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 106. MEDICARE SMARTCARD REGISTRATION RECORDS The Medicare smartcard registration system allowed Medicare office staff to register consumers for a Medicare smartcard (contract for supply of Medicare smartcards expired in November 2006). To be registered for a Medicare smartcard the consumer must first have enrolled in Medicare. Registrations occurred at the consumer and Medicare card level. Therefore, each consumer on a Medicare card needed to be registered to have their details added to the smartcard chip and if a consumer was on more that one Medicare card stem, that consumer needed register for each card they appeared on. The Medicare smartcard registration system used the consumer Medicare enrolment data as the consumer demographics. Additional information recorded as part of the Medicare smartcard registration system included:


Photo indicator. Yes, the consumer wanted a photo, or no, the consumer did not want a photo. Consumer photo. If the consumer said “yes” to having a photo stored as part of their registration record the photo was taken by a separate photo system linked to the registration system and recorded as a 4K Binary Large Object (BLOB). Evidence of Identity (EOI). The EOI document references (eg. drivers licence number) used by the consumer as part of the EOI check done during Medicare smartcard registration. Question and Answer (Q&A). Each consumer was asked to record a question and answer, this could be used later for re-authentication if updates were required. Contact Details, included: home phone number, work phone number, mobile phone number, email address. The personal information on these records relates to the consumer. The following Medicare Australia staff have access to this information: authorised Tasmanian state Headquarters staff, National Office Business Analyst, Project Administrative and System Administrative staff. The records are held in two forms, paper (signed registration forms) and computer media (registration records). Destruction of registration forms and accompanying documentation, together with electronic records, will be in accordance with the Archives Act 1983. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to personal information by contacting the Medicare Australia online services enquiry line on 1300 850 111 or email: [email protected] The records related to approximately 4,478 individuals. All records are kept for two years in accordance with RA 20163 Location: Paper records have been batched from each Tasmanian Medicare office to the State Storage

System. Electronic records are accessed via computer terminals within the Medicare Australia network, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900.

107. MEDICONNECT – DOCTOR REGISTRATION RECORDS MediConnect is no longer a current program. The MediConnect doctor registration applet allowed medical practitioners who had previously signed a paper agreement to participate in MediConnect, to self-register for participation in MediConnect. A database record was created for the medical practitioner to show that they had signed the participation agreement before they were able to self-register using the registration applet. The process of signing a participation agreement and self-registering created ‘Doctor Registration Records’. The personal information on these records relates to the medical practitioner. The following Medicare Australia staff have access to view this information: authorised Business Analyst staff, Project Administrative and System Administrative staff. The records are held in two forms, paper (participation agreements) and computer media (self-registration records created by the applet), both of which will be retained for 7 years from the end of the MediConnect Field Test (17 March 2003 – 31 December 2004). Destruction of registration forms and accompanying documentation, together with electronic records, will be in accordance with the Archives Act 1983. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain more information by contacting Medicare Australia on (02) 6124 6333. The records relate to approximately 62 doctors. Location: Paper records are held within Medicare Australia offices, and Electronic records are accessed via computer

terminals within Medicare Australia network, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2900. 108. MEDICONNECT – PHARMACY REGISTRATION RECORDS


MediConnect is no longer a current program. The MediConnect pharmacy registration applet allowed the duly authorised officer from within a pharmacy, who had previously signed a paper agreement to participate in MediConnect, to self-register their pharmacy for participation in MediConnect. A database record was created for the pharmacy to show that the duly authorised officer had signed the participation agreement before the pharmacy could be registered via the registration applet. The process of signing a participation agreement and self-registering created ‘Pharmacy Registration Records’. The following Medicare Australia staff had access to view this information: authorised Business Analyst staff, Project Administrative and System Administrative staff. The records are held in two forms, paper (participation agreements) and computer media (self-registration records created by the applet), both of which will be retained for 7 years from the end of the MediConnect Field Test (17 March 2003 – 31 December 2004). Destruction of registration forms and accompanying documentation, together with electronic records, will be in accordance with the Archives Act 1983. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain more information by contacting Medicare Australia on (02) 6124 6333. The records related to approximately 37 pharmacies. Location: All paper records have been sentenced for archiving and are located in Hume ACT. Electronic records

were accessed via computer terminals within the Medicare Australia network, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT 2901.

109. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA / ATO ONGOING E-TAX PREPOPULATION – POST JULY 2006 From July 2006, Medicare Australia does not store consumer consent information for participation in the e-tax pre population initiative. Medicare Australia stores limited information regarding the request for Medicare Tax Statement information from e-tax by Medicare Australia registered consumers. This information includes the date and time of the request and the success/failure of matching to Medicare Australia records. 110. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA ACCESS POINT DATABASE The purpose of these records is to manage the Medicare Australia Access Point (MAAP) network which consists of approximately 1,030 telephone claiming devices. The information held is primarily business related and is used for contact purposes, supplying name and bank account details to the Accounts Payable Team for the purpose of paying annual and performance payments to site hosts and also to assist with the maintenance of contracts. The personal information on these records relates to MAAP site hosts such as Pharmacists, Site Managers or individual store owners/managers. Content may include: name, address, occupation, gender, ABN’s, telephone numbers, vendors and bank account details. The records are stored on electronic and paper media and are kept for a period of 10-15 years. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised staff (APS4-EL2) that require access to conduct their daily work and who belong to the Service Delivery and Operational Support Section, National Operations and Performance Branch, Customer Services Division. This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. The Accounts Payable Team in New South Wales cannot access the database directly and are provided with extracted data from the database for payment purposes. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Service Delivery and Operational Support, Ph: 1800 033 404. The records relate to 1,330 individuals as at 30 June 2009. Location: Via networked computer terminals located at National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway ACT 2900.


111. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA FEEDBACK REGISTER The purpose of this database is to maintain a record of customer feedback including complaints, compliments and suggestions concerning the operation of any of the programs administered by Medicare Australia. Also included in the database is information concerning any actions taken as a result of feedback. The personal information on these records relates to individuals, Commonwealth Ombudsman staff, medical, pharmaceutical and other health professionals who provide feedback to Medicare Australia. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, marital status, arrival in Australia, expected departure date, residency status, Medicare card number, statutory declaration and other information volunteered by the correspondent. Sensitive content may also include: physical or mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, criminal convictions, financial information, payment and benefit details, relationship details and other information volunteered by the correspondent. These records are stored permanently and will be archived as required. All Medicare Australia staff have access to this personal information. On occasions, some of this information is disclosed to Commonwealth Ombudsman staff in response to specific complaints received. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Freedom of Information Officer Ph: (02) 6124 6333. At 30 June 2009 there were 7,599 records stored in this database. Location: National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 112. LOCAL LIAISON OFFICER REGISTER This Local Liaison Officer Register still exists, however no further entries have been recorded since the closure of program on 13 February 2008. Effective 13 February 2008, the Australian Government closed the Local Liaison Officer program. The then Minister for Human Services wrote to all members of parliament and senators advising them of the process that each of the agencies within the portfolio will use to respond to their enquiries in respect to the programs administered by each agency. This is to ensure that consistent advice is provided and that there is a central record of all contact by Senators and MPs. 113. MP/ SENATOR / ELECTORATE OFFICER REGISTER The purpose of these records is to provide a record of the approaches made by Members of Parliament/ Senators and Electorate Officers concerning representations made by their constituents in relation to matters concerning the Department of Human Services. The database keeps a record of the issue represented, the person who handles the issue and the resolution of the matter presented. The personal information on these records relates to members of the public. Content may include: name, address, gender, Medicare card numbers and may also include telephone numbers and email addresses. These records should be sentenced in accordance with the Administrative Function Disposal Authorities relating to this correspondence. Records of a routine nature are destroyed two years after action completed; records of an exceptional nature are retained permanently. The following agency staff has access to this personal information: Parliamentary Section staff and Medicare Australia staff involved in the relevant program or subject area of the enquiry. Some of this information is disclosed to Members of Parliament and Senators relating to their specific matter and also to appropriate agency staff.


Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Section Manger of Parliamentary - Ph: 6124 7247. The records relate to 359 individuals as at 30 June 2009. Location: Records are accessed by authorised staff only via computer terminals within the Medicare Australia

network. Main location, National Office, 134 Reed Street North, Greenway, ACT, 2900. 114. RESPITE CARE – 21 DAY EXTENSION The purpose of these records is to capture periods of respite care, which is included in the calculation of the ‘Claim for Australian Government Subsidy for Care Recipients in Approval Residential Care Facilities’. The personal information on these records relates to respite residents of approved facilities. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, and gender. Sensitive content may include: reason for respite care extension request. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations - Phone (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 19,600 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are accessed

via the DoHA network. 115. AGED CARE – CLIENT RECORD (FORM 3020) The purpose of these records is to record details of assessments by Aged Care Assessment Teams and to record client approval for entry to Residential Aged Care Facilities, and for receipt of Community Care and Flexible Care. The personal information on these records relates to applicants for entry to a residential care facility, and for receipt of Community Care and Flexible Care. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, marital status, normal form of accommodation, and person or person’s with whom the client usually lives. Sensitive content may include disability, racial or ethnic origin, physical and/or mental health, diagnoses, preferred language. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State and Territory offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is available to authorised Aged Care providers through Medicare Australia’s secure website to verify an individual’s approval for aged care. With the exception of the above, this information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations - Phone (02) 6124 7244.


The records relate to approximately 1.55 million individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are on

Medicare Australia’s IT network and also accessed via the DoHA network 116. AGED CARE – COMMUNITY AGED CARE PACKAGES CLAIM FORMS AND PAYMENT

SUMMARIES The purpose of these records is to process and administer claims for financial assistance by Community Aged Care packages in respect of individual recipients. The personal information on these records relates to recipients of Community Aged Care Packages. Content may include: name, date of birth, gender, location and indicators of need for Community Aged Care Packages services. Sensitive content may include: financial information, diagnoses, preferred language. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations Ph: (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 172,000 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are accessed

via the DoHA network. 117. 100 POINT CHECK The purpose of these records was to fulfil an approval process for aged care services when the aged care helpdesk applied for individual certificates with HeSA. This information is no longer collected due to the introduction of the ‘known customer individual certificate’ process. The personal information in these records relates to Employees of Aged Care Approved providers. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, gender and marital status. Sensitive information may include: financial information and relationship details. These records are stored on paper media and are kept permanently. The following agency staff have access to this information: Aged Care Online Claiming staff – APS 5 to EL1, including contractors. All of the information collected was passed directly onto the HeSA team within Medicare Australia. This information was not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Aged Care Branch Manager, Ph (02) 6124 7879. These records relate to approximately 35 individuals. (This has not changed from 2008 as we no longer require the 100 point check).


Location: Records to date are kept in a secure filing cabinet in Medicare Australia, Centrepoint 3 Building, Anketell St Tuggeranong ACT. As these records are no longer used, Aged Care is looking into the possibility of archiving them via Medicare Australia’s Records Management Team.

118. AGED CARE – EXTENDED CARE AT HOME (EACH) CLAIM FROMS AND PAYMENT

STATEMENTS The purpose of these records is to process and administer claims for financial assistance by Extended Care at Home (EACH) services in respect of individual recipients. The personal information in these records relates to recipients of EACH services. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender and marital status. These records are stored on paper and computer media. These records are kept for 10 years. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised Aged Care staff from APS1 to EL2. This information is stored on the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems, therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Aged Care Branch Manager, Ph: (02) 6124 7879. The records relate to approximately 11,500 individuals. Location: Computer records are accessed via the DoHA network. Paper records are located in State Headquarters

and in state archiving facilities. 119. AGED CARE – EXTENDED CARE AT HOME – DEMENTIA (EACHD) CLAIM FORMS AND

PAYMENT STATEMENTS The purpose of these records is to process and administer claims for financial assistance by Extended Care at Home (EACH) services in respect of individual recipients. The personal information in these records relates to recipients of EACHD services. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender and marital status. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health These records are stored on paper and computer media. These records are kept for 10 years. The following agency staff have access to this information: authorised Aged Care staff from APS1 to EL2. This information is stored on the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems, therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Aged Care Branch Manager, Ph: (02) 6124 7879. These records relate to approximately 4,600 individuals. Location: Computer records are accessed via the DoHA network. Paper records are located in State Headquarters

and in state archiving facilities. 120. AUTHORISATION FORM – FOR USE BY SERVICES PARTICIPATING IN AGED CARE ONLINE

CLAIMING The purpose of these records is to register Aged Care Services to participate in Aged Care online claiming, notify Medicare Australia of person/s authorised to sign data electronically and request access for Aged Care staff of the service to use Aged Care online claiming to browse, request reports and submit data.


The personal information on these records relates to employees of Aged Care Approved Providers. Content may include: name, address, occupation, gender, marital status, telephone numbers and email addresses. These records are stored on paper and computer media. These records are kept permanently. The following agency staff have access to this information: Aged Care Online Claiming staff – APS4 to EL2 including: Contractors located in National Office and eBusiness Staff Centres (EBSC) in State offices This information is not usually disclosed to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Manager, Aged Care Branch, Ph: (02) 6124 7879. The records relate to approximately 9,750 individuals. Location: Computer records on Medicare Australia’s network. Paper records are located in State Headquarters and

in state archiving facilities 121. AGED CARE – TRANSITIONAL CARE CLAIM FORMS AND PAYMENT STATMENTS The purpose of these records is to process and administer claims for financial assistance by Transitional Care Services in respect of individual recipients. The personal information on these records relates to recipients of Transitional Care Services. Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender and marital status. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for 10 years. The following agency staff have access to this information: staff of Aged Care Branch, PBS & Aged Care Programs Division, APS1-EL2. The information is stored on Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting: Manager of Operations, Aged Care Branch, Ph: (02) 6124 7879. The records relate to approximately 13,700 individuals. Location: Computer records are accessed via DoHA network. Paper records are located at state Headquarters and in

state archiving facilities. 122. APPOINTMENT OF A NOMINEE The purpose of these records is to enable residents of nursing homes to authorise another person to deal with Medicare Australia on their behalf. The personal information on these records relates to residents in approved facilities and their nominee(s). Content may include: name, address, date of birth, gender, department ID number, Nominees name, address, and contact details. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health, whether nominee holds other forms of authorisation. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff.


The information is stored on Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations - Phone (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 123,200 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are accessed

via the DoHA network. 123. APPLICATION FOR ELIGIBLE OXYGEN TREATMENT AND/OR ENTERAL FEEDING

SUPPLEMENT The purpose of these records is to provide supplementary information (under section 44-13 Oxygen Supplement, and section 44.14 Enteral Feeding Supplement of the Aged Care Act 1997), to the ‘Claim for Australian Government Subsidy for Care Recipients in Approved Residential Care Facilities’. The personal information on these records relates to residents of approved facilities. Content may include: name, care recipient ID, supplement start and end dates. Sensitive content may include: physical or mental health. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations Ph: (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 48,300 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are accessed

via the DoHA network. 124. RESIDENT CLASSIFICATION SCALE FOR PERMANENT CARE The purpose of these records is to calculate the appropriate level of funding for residential facilities in which an applicant resides, under part 2.4 of the Aged Care Act 1997. The personal information on these records relates to residents of approved facilities Content may include: name, date of birth, gender. Sensitive content may include: disability, physical and/or mental health. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is available to authorised Aged Care providers through Medicare Australia’s secure website in order to verify claim


information. With the exception of the above, this information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations - Phone (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 707,000 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are on

Medicare Australia’s IT network and also accessed via the DoHA network. 125. RESIDENT ENTRY RECORD FOR PERMANENT CARE The purpose of these records is to provide supplementary information to the ‘Claim for Australian Government Subsidy for Care Recipients in Approved Residential Care Facilities’. The personal information on these records relates to applicants to approved facilities. Content may include: name, date of birth, gender, date of entry, pensioner/concessional status. Sensitive content may include: financial information, whether the applicant has received an award or settlement in relation to workers compensation, third party insurance or common law settlement. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff. The information is stored on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is disclosed by Medicare Australia to Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Centrelink for the purposes of income and asset testing. This is to establish the recipient’s capacity to contribute to their cost of care. This information is also available to authorised Aged Care providers through Medicare Australia’s secure website in order to verify claim information. With the exception of the above, this information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations Ph: (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 784,700 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are on

Medicare Australia’s IT network and also accessed via the DoHA network. 126. CLAIMS FOR AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY FOR CARE RECIPIENTS IN APPROVED

RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES The purpose of these records is to process claims for residential Aged Care facilities, in respect of individual residents, for residential care subsidies under section 43-4 of the Aged Care Act 1997. The personal information on these records relates to residents of nursing homes. Content may include: name, date of birth, gender, whether resident is permanent or admitted for respite, fees charged. Sensitive content may include: financial information, physical and/or mental health, pre-admission details. The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a period of ten years. The following agency staff have access to this information: payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff.


The information is stored on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is available to authorised Aged Care providers through Medicare Australia’s secure website in order to verify claim information. With the exception of the above, this information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organisations. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Aged Care Manager of Operations Ph: (02) 6124 7244. The records relate to approximately 869,500 individuals. Location: Records are located at state Headquarters, and in state archiving facilities. Computer records are on

Medicare Australia’s IT network and also accessed via the DoHA network. 127. AGED CARE FUNDING INSTRUMENT APPLICATION FOR CLASSIFICATION The purpose of these records is to calculate the appropriate level of funding for residential facilities based on an assessment, under part 2.4 of the Aged Care Act 1997, of the care recipients needs.

The personal information on these records relates to permanent residents of approved residential aged care facilities.

Content may include name, date of birth and gender.

Sensitive content may include physical or mental health and disabilities.

The records are stored on computer and paper media. These records are kept for a minimum of 7 years.

The following agency staff have access to this personal information: Medicare Australia aged care payment staff and supervisors in State offices, National Office systems maintenance and reporting staff.

This information is stored on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems; therefore this information is accessed by DoHA as required. This information is also available to authorized Aged Care providers through Medicare Australia’s secure website in order to verify claim information. With the exception of the above, this information is not usually disclosed by Medicare Australia to other persons or organizations.

Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the Manager, Aged Care Operations on Ph: (02) 6124 7244.

These records relate to 194,500 individuals as at 26 May 2009.

Location: Records are located on Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming system and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) systems. The paper records are also stored in Medicare Australia’s State processing centres and associated secure archive facilities.


128. APPENDIX 1 129. PERSONNEL RECORDS Due to the commonality of these classes of records between agencies, they have been grouped in one entry. This necessarily reduces the amount of detail provided. Current and former employees can obtain details of specific agency record handling practices by contacting personnel staff in that agency. It should not be assumed that all records described are kept in a common storage facility. Separate security arrangements will typically apply, depending on the sensitivity of the information. The purpose of these records is to maintain employment history and payroll and administrative information relating to all permanent, contract and temporary staff members and employees of an agency. Personnel and payroll The records may include any one or more of the following: (1) records relating to attendance and overtime; (2) leave applications and approvals; (3) medical and dental records; (4) payroll and pay related records, including banking details; (5) tax file number declaration forms; (6) declarations of pecuniary interests; (7) personal history files; (8) performance appraisals, etc; (9) records relating to personal development and training; (10) trade, skill and aptitude test records; (11) completed questionnaires and personnel survey forms; (12) records relating to removals; (13) travel documentation; (14) records relating to personal welfare matters; and (15) contracts and conditions of employment. (16) EEO Data (17) next of kin details Recruitment The records may include any one or more of the following: (1) recruitment records and dossiers; (2) records relating to relocation of staff and removals of personal effects; and (3) records relating to character checks and security clearances. Other The records may include any one or more of the following: (1) records of accidents and injuries; (2) compensation case files; (3) rehabilitation case files; (4) records relating to counselling and discipline matters, including disciplinary, investigation and action files, legal action files, records of criminal convictions, and any other staff and establishment records as appropriate; (5) complaints and grievances; and (6) recommendations for honours and awards. Contents of personnel records may include: name, address, date of birth, occupation, AGS number, gender, qualifications, equal employment opportunity group designation, next of kin, details of pay and allowances, leave details, work reports, security clearance details and employment history. Sensitive contents of personnel records may include: physical and mental health, disabilities, racial or ethnic origin, disciplinary investigation and action, criminal convictions, adverse performance and security assessments, tax file numbers, relationship details and personal financial information. Personal information on personnel records relates to current and former staff members and employees including contract and temporary staff.


The following agency staff have access to personnel records: executive and senior personnel management staff, supervisors and members of selection committees (if appropriate), the individual to whom the record relates and, as is appropriate, personnel staff, security officers and case managers. Personnel records are kept according to the applicable provisions of the General Disposal Authority for staff and establishment records issued by Australian Archives. Information held in personnel records may be disclosed, as appropriate, to: Comcare, Commonwealth Medical Officers, Attorney-General's Department, Australian Public Service Commission, ComSuper and other superannuation administrators, Australian Taxation Office, and the receiving agency following movement or re-engagement of an employee. Individuals can obtain information regarding access to their personal information by contacting the personnel section of the employing agency. Records relate to all current and former employees of an agency and are stored on paper, microfiche and electronic media. Location: the appropriate Central, State, regional office of the employing agency.