Privacy

The following information is effective as at 1 July 2025.

Purpose

The Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) collects and manages your personal information as described in this policy, unless stated otherwise. This policy is intended to provide access to up to date and clear information about to how OIR handles your personal information, as set out in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act). This policy is published in compliance with Queensland Privacy Principle 1.

Scope

This policy applies to all OIR employees, whether full-time, part-time, casual, temporary or permanent, sub-contractors or consultants, agency employees and any external parties while deployed or engaged within OIR.

Privacy statement

OIR is committed to the protection of privacy in its handling of the personal information of its clients, customers, licensees, business partners, contractual partners, their representatives, and staff.

Personal information means any information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable from the information or opinion.

OIR aims to protect privacy by setting out:

Why we collect information
the types of information we collect
how we will us or disclose personal information
how we will store, secure and dispose of personal information
your right to deal with OIR anonymously or using a pseudonym
your right to access and correct your personal information
what we do if there is a privacy breach and you wish to make a privacy complaint.

OIR acknowledges its obligations under the IP Act and Commonwealth privacy legislation and the community’s expectation that OIR will respect and protect any personal information it holds.

OIR’s Privacy Principles

At OIR, we value privacy and the protection of personal information and understand that getting privacy right is imperative to delivering our functions and services. For us, handling personal information appropriately is vital to:

protect and serve the Queensland community
build and maintain trust, including understanding culturally diverse privacy considerations
help deliver better services.

Requirements

Why OIR collects personal information

OIR collect personal information about clients, customers, and licensees as part of our routine activities, e.g. if you wish to make a complaint, obtain certain licences, undertake training with us or apply for a job.

We also collect personal information from our staff, contractors, business partners and suppliers as part of our routine activities.

OIR is required to collect certain types of personal information under the following legislation:

Child Employment Act 2006
Electrical Safety Act 2002
Electrical Safety Regulation 2013
Industrial Relations Act 2016
Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017
Pastoral Workers Accommodation Act 1980
Private Employment Agents Act 2005
Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011
Safety in Recreational Water Activities Regulation 2024
Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011
Workers Accommodation Act 1952
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014.

OIR may ask you to provide certain types of personal information if you wish to obtain a particular service from us. This might happen over the telephone, through our websites, by filling in a paper or online form, or meeting with us face-to-face. Wherever possible, we will ensure you are provided with a Privacy Collection Notice at the time, to explain how we will use the personal information we are asking for and the authority for collecting it. The notice may be written or verbal.

You might also provide your personal information to us, without OIR directly requesting it, for example if you engage with us on social media, subscribe to a newsletter, send us an email, or during a phone call to OIR.

Information that the OIR collect from others

If you are under 18, we might also collect information from your parent, guardian or someone nominated to act on your behalf.

If you apply for a job or contract with OIR, we will collect personal information about you from you, your referees, and/or your recruitment agency. We will also collect information to confirm your proof of eligibility for employment i.e. identity and citizenship/residency or visa records, confirm any declarations of serious disciplinary history and lobbyist activity, and we may also collect information to conduct a criminal history check, and for mandatory qualifications, certifications and/or licences, or any other documentation to support any mandatory conditions of employment.

For new employees, your appointment date, full name, position title, work email address, work location, the name of the Award you are employed under, and your employment status will be provided to Together Union (union). OIR may also check some details about our suppliers from publicly available sources, such as the Australian Business Register and ASIC databases.

We may also collect your contact details as an individual who works for our contractors and suppliers, and other types of professional associates as part of our routine activities.

Information OIR receives from others

OIR also receives information about you from others, such as from workers’ compensation insurers and WorkCover Queensland, during site audits, and investigations, or as a result of a work health and safety complaint. It may include personal details, medical information that relate to you and your claim, or your work and complaint. This information is provided to the OIR as it is required under legislation. We also handle this information as described in this policy.

Information that OIR generates

OIR maintain records of the interactions we have with clients, customers, and licensees, including any services we have provided to you. This could include applications you have made for an independent statutory review process, licenses, records of attendance at Medical Assessment Tribunal hearings, and complaints. OIR also collect information about health and safety incidents and injuries from the staff involved.

Website and emails

When you visit OIR’s websites, our web measurement tool and internet service provider records anonymous information for statistical purposes only, including:

the type of browser, computer platform and screen resolution you are using
your traffic patterns through our site, such as:
- pages you access and documents downloaded
- the page you visited prior to accessing our site
- the IP address of the server accessing our site.

Our web measurement software uses cookies when collecting this information. However, no attempt is made or will be made to identify you, or to use or disclose your personal information, except where required by a law.

Our internet service provider or information technology staff may monitor email traffic for system trouble shooting, information security, and maintenance purposes only. We will not add your name and address details to a mailing list, nor will we disclose these details to third parties without your consent, unless required by law.

Camera surveillance systems

OIR uses camera surveillance systems in some locations, including at office locations, reception areas and Medical Assessment Tribunal rooms. Generally, this is done for safety and security reasons. There will be signs advising you if camera surveillance is in use, or we will tell you that we will be recording.

In addition, authorised staff in OIR may use other personally operated audio and video recording devices to capture images and sound. These devices are activated in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The types of personal information OIR collects

The following areas of OIR collect personal information for the purposes of performing their functions and delivering regulatory, legislative, and administrative activities:

Corporate services

Human resources
Staff support
Finance
Procurement
Legal advice
Audits and compliance, health, safety and wellbeing incident and injury reports
Information access related functions

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Electrical Safety Office

Name, contact details including phone, email, address, workplace contact details
Witness statements
Photographic and video images
Audio
Medical information
Employment information
Next-of-kin details
Licence and registration information
Education and training certifications, qualifications
Opinions

Workers Compensation Regulatory Services

Name, contact details including phone, email, address
Specialist registration (for medical practitioners) and training
Injury management and rehabilitation information
Personal information relating to a workers’ compensation claim>
Medical information
Employment information
Investigation reports and witness statements
Audio recording of tribunal hearings
Personal financial information, including bank accounts, tax file numbers and payslips
Insurance details

Industrial Relations

Assessment information
Grant information

Queensland Labour Hire Licensing

Licence and application information
Name, contact details including phone, email, address, workplace contact details
Details about persons making complaints, subjects of complaints and witnesses
Information collected during investigations and prosecutions

Links to other sites

On OIRs websites, we may provide links to third party websites. These linked sites are not under our control, and we cannot accept responsibility for the conduct of third parties linked to our websites. Before providing your personal information via any other website, we advise you to examine the terms and conditions of using that website and its privacy policy.

How OIR use and disclose personal information

OIR will only use and disclose personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected, unless one of the exceptions applies.

For example, we may use or disclose personal information for a different purpose if:

the information will be used for a purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose for which it was collected
the person has expressly or impliedly consented to the proposed use or disclosure
the use or disclosure is authorised or required by law
we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that the use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health, safety or welfare of an individual or the public
we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that the use or disclosure is necessary for law enforcement processes
the person is reasonably likely to have been aware that it is OIR’s usual practice to disclose the information because they were told about it in a Privacy Collection Notice
the use or disclosure is for research in the public interest and certain requirements are met.

OIR will keep personal information about you, to use for the above purposes in accordance with the Public Records Act 2023 and the Queensland Government Records Governance Policy, until disposal of the records for the business transaction or business process that your personal information is attached to. Where there is no legal requirement, your personal information will only be kept until your identity is verified, and until evidence is recorded by OIR to demonstrate that identity verification has occurred, or until the business action is completed.

How OIR will store, secure and dispose of personal information

Third party service providers

To fulfil OIR functions, we sometimes need to engage third party service providers who may hold your personal information on our behalf. Rarely, they may hold this information outside of Australia, for example in the Cloud. When this occurs, OIR ensure they are bound by contract to only use your personal information on OIR’s behalf, under OIR’s instructions. This is in compliance with section 33 of the IP Act.

Other disclosures and transfers

We may also disclose your personal information to third parties for the following purposes:

if necessary to provide the service or product you have requested
if otherwise permitted or required by law
for other purposes with your consent.

Security of your personal information

OIR will take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure.

OIR will take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is stored securely, not kept longer than necessary, and disposed of appropriately, as required by the Queensland Government Records Governance Policy, its policy requirements and any mandatory standards, as directed by the Queensland State Archivist and any mandatory standards, as directed by the Queensland State Archivist.

We will also seek to dispose of or de-identify unsolicited information that you provide us, that we would not normally be allowed by law to collect, is not already part of the public record, and can be lawfully and reasonably done by the OIR.

Being anonymous or using a pseudonym

You have the right to request to deal with the OIR anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym where OIR is not required to obtain your name or be able to identify you by law. For example, you can’t be anonymous where OIR is required by law to identify you, you need to be identified by court or tribunal order or need to receive a licence. Also, if you deal with us anonymously, it may affect how we can provide you further information or look into the issue or concern you raise.

Accessing or correcting your personal information

You have the right to request access to the personal information OIR holds about you and you have the right to request the correction of the personal information.

Further information about accessing or correcting your personal information can be found here: Your Right to Information | Office of Industrial Relations

Privacy breaches and complaints

Despite our best efforts to protect your information, privacy breaches may occur. A privacy breach occurs when personal information is not handled in accordance with the IP Act. It will generally involve unauthorised access to, or collection, use or disclosure of, personal information.

A person who believes that their personal information has not been handled in accordance with the IP Act may make a privacy complaint.

What does OIR do if there is a privacy breach?

If OIR becomes aware of a possible privacy breach, OIR will immediately takes steps to:

contain the breach
evaluate the risks associated with the breach
assess whether affected persons should be notified
review what occurred and what action can be taken to prevent it happening again.

OIR is obliged to report any breaches of privacy under the IP Act, to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) when the breach involves an unauthorised access or disclosure of personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to the person whose privacy has been breached. When this occurs, OIR will also notify the person whose privacy has been breached. OIR has a Privacy Response Breach Procedure (PDF, 357KB) that explains how OIR will assess, respond and handle a breach of personal information.

Complaint and review procedures

A privacy breach may lead to a privacy complaint. If you believe that OIR has not dealt with your personal information in accordance with the IP Act, you may contact the RTI and Privacy team to discuss your concerns, or you can make a privacy complaint.

Making a privacy complaint

Generally, we will only accept privacy complaints which are made within 12 months after you become aware of the matters you want to make a complaint about.

Information Privacy complaints must be made in writing using OIR’s Privacy Complaint form (PDF, 538KB) and give particulars of the act or practice you are concerned about. We will require evidence of your identity, to ensure that your personal information is not disclosed inappropriately.

Privacy complaints should be marked ‘Private and confidential’ and forwarded to RTI and Privacy Unit:

Attn: Privacy Team
Right to Information and Privacy
Office of Industrial Relations
GPO Box 69, Brisbane QLD 4001
Email: privacy@oir.qld.gov.au.

Complaints to the Office of the Information Commissioner

You may make a privacy complaint to OIC if:

at least 45 business days have passed since you complained to OIR and you have not received a response
you have received a response but consider it is not an adequate response.

The Information Commissioner will not deal with your complaint unless you have first made a complaint to OIR.

Details about the Information Commissioner’s privacy complaints process is available on the OIC’s website.

Complaints to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of OICs mediation process, you may ask OIC to refer the matter to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for decision.

QCAT has published information about its privacy jurisdiction at Right to information and privacy jurisdictions of QCAT.

Legislation

Information Privacy Act 2009.

Integrity, Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023.

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Definitions

User	OIR employees, whether full-time, part-time, casual, temporary or permanent, sub-contractors or consultants, agency employees and any external parties while deployed or engaged within OIR.
Information	All reports, documents, data sets and information that Queensland Government departments collect or produce for statutory purposes or business needs. Information may be stored in a number of information formats. This includes presentation in electronic (digital), print, audio, video, image, graphical, cartographic, physical sample, textual or numerical form.
Information Assets	An identifiable collection of data stored in any manner and recognised as having value for the purpose of enabling an agency to perform its business functions thereby satisfying a recognised agency requirement. This includes applications, servers, workstations, software and hardware devices supporting the storage, transmission and processing of data.
Sensitive Health Information	Health information is any personal information about the customers’ health or disability. It includes information or opinion about the customers’ illness, injury or disability.
Sensitive information	Sensitive information is information or an opinion about an individual’s: • racial or ethnic origin • political opinions • membership of a political association • religious beliefs or affiliations • philosophical beliefs • membership of a professional or trade association • membership of a trade union • sexual orientation or practices • criminal record • health information • genetic information that is not otherwise health information • biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification; or • biometric templates.
Personal Information	Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable from the information or opinion— (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and (b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.