PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE OF THE PEACE APPOINTMENTS

USING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We protect the privacy of your personal information in accordance with the law governing public sector agencies in New South Wales.

We use the personal information you provide in your application form to assess your eligibility for appointment as a JP. Your eligibility is determined under the Justices of the Peace Act 2002 and guidelines set by the Attorney General. We may also use your personal information to make further enquiries about your eligibility, including your good character. This includes, but is not limited to, a national criminal records check. We may assess and make further enquiries about your eligibility not only during the appointment process, but also at any time during your term of office as a JP. This is because, even after confirming your appointment, we may need to review your continuing eligibility to hold the office.

PUBLISHING YOUR PUBLIC CONTACT DETAILS

If you have provided your written consent, we will publish your public contact details on the online public register of JPs. Your public contact details are 1) your full name, 2) the contact telephone number you nominated for members of the public to contact you, and 3) the suburb or town and postcode you nominated as the location where you usually provide JP services.

If you are exercising JP functions primarily for your employment purposes, you may notify us in writing that you do not consent to the publication of items 2) and 3) of your public contact details.

If you notify us that your safety or well-being would be affected if items 2) and 3) of your public contact details were published on the online public register, the Director General of the Department of Justice and Attorney General may approve the exclusion or removal of those details from the public register. This applies whether your appointment is as an employment-based or community-based JP.

DISCLOSING YOUR APPOINTMENT STATUS

During your term of office as a JP, or at any time after your term of office ends, any person or organisation may ask us to confirm whether or not you held an appointment as a JP at a particular point in time. In response to such a request, we may disclose 1) your full name, 2) your JP registration number, and 3) the start and end dates of your term of office.

The Director-General of the Department of Justice and Attorney General may issue a certificate certifying as to whether or not you were registered on the JP register at a particular time. The certificate is admissible in legal proceedings as evidence of the matters certified.

DISCLOSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

In limited circumstances, we may be required to disclose your personal information. Your personal information includes your private contact details, such as your home address and private telephone numbers. We may be required disclose this personal information in connection with 1) proceedings for an offence or for law enforcement purposes, 2) where authorised or required by subpoena or by search warrant or other statutory instrument, 3) where reasonably necessary for the protection of the public revenue, or in order to investigate an offence where there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have been committed, or 4) in other circumstances permitted by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 or regulations. For example, we may be required to disclose your private contact details to the NSW Police Force in connection with an investigation of an alleged criminal offence, or to the State Debt Recovery Office or Office of State Revenue in connection with the protection of public revenue.

VIEWING OR CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You may request to view your personal information that we hold on the JP register by making a request to us in writing. You may request to correct your personal information that we hold on the JP register by making a request to us in writing, or by using an online form that we have provided for that purpose.

SECURING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your personal information is held securely within the Department of Justice and Attorney General. Access to personal information in the JP register and related Departmental files is restricted to authorised personnel. When using one of our online forms, information you send to us is transmitted via a SSL connection.

OBTAINING FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about how the Department of Justice and Attorney General deals with the personal information of its customers, visit Privacy Management Plan. For information about your right to privacy and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998,visit the website of Privacy NSW.