Privacy

My Aged Care provides you with information and support about the aged care system. It includes:

• the contact centre - phone 1800 200 422 (the 'Contact Centre')
• the My Aged Care website - myagedcare.gov.au (the 'Website')
• aged care specialist officers at Services Australia.

This privacy policy explains how we handle personal information to deliver My Aged Care. In addition to this privacy policy. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Why we collect personal information

We collect personal information to facilitate access to funded aged care services and undertake functions under aged care legislation. This might include collecting personal information to:

• respond to enquiries about aged care, create My Aged Care records and assign Aged Care IDs for older persons and their supporters
• register supporters and manage supporter registrations
• receive applications and determine eligibility for funded aged care services
• complete aged care needs assessments
• make referrals to aged care providers
• determine your priority for aged care services
• provide access to the My Aged Care Online Account (accessible via myGov)
• manage complaints and feedback
• service improvement.

Generally, our collection of personal information is authorised under the Aged Care Act 2024.

For details about the information we collect when you use our website, see our website privacy statement.

How we collect personal information

We collect information from you when you deal with us through My Aged Care by:

• visiting us at a Services Australia service centre
• calling, emailing or mailing information to us
• interacting with us online, including when you lodge a referral or application form or access your Online Account.

We also collect information from you through an assessment organisation, when a needs assessor interviews you about the services you or another person needs.

We may also survey you about your experience with My Aged Care.

Collection from other people

We collect your information from other people:

• with your consent, including from a supporter
• where authorised under law, e.g. from an active, appointed decision maker
• in referrals made by GPs, aged care providers or other health professionals.

If you are a supporter, we may also collect your personal information from:

• the person you support
• other people or bodies with information about your capacity or suitability to be a supporter.

We also collect your personal information if you have opted to notify the Department about the death of an individual through the Australian Death Notification Service. You can view the privacy notice for that service or visit the Australian Death Notification Service website. 

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

We collect personal information about different people.

Do you have to identify yourself?

When you contact us, you may choose not to identify yourself or to use a pseudonym.

For example, when you ring the Contact Centre to make an enquiry, you may inform the Customer Support Specialist that you do not wish to provide your name. However, without your name and personal details, we can only give you general information about aged care. We will not be able to provide other services, e.g. register you for My Aged Care or assess your need for funded aged care services.

How do we use and disclose personal information?

We will use and disclose your information for the purpose we collected it for (i.e. to facilitate access to funded aged care services). This may include:

• contacting you and sending you information
• creating and providing you with access to your My Aged Care Online Account (via myGov)
• checking your eligibility for aged care
• arranging for an assessor to assess your need for services
• approving you for aged care services
• referring you to other people or organisations for help (e.g. the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission if you have a concern about aged care services)
• sharing information with Services Australia to enable delivery of aged care services, including payments to providers and management of aged care client budgets.

If you are a supporter, we may use and disclose your personal information for a range of purposes, such as to:

• check your suitability to act as a supporter under the Aged Care Act
• manage your registration as a supporter of an older person, including to check your capacity and suitability to be a supporter, and to register and suspend and cancel registrations as necessary.

We may also use and disclose your personal information:

• with your consent
• for service improvement (e.g. to ask you for feedback)
• where permitted under the Aged Care Act.

How do we store personal information?

When you register with My Aged Care, we create a ‘personalised record’ for you and give you a unique Aged Care ID. We store all of the information we collect about your aged care journey in your personalised record which is stored securely on data servers in Australia as required by the Privacy Act These systems ensure your information is kept accurate, confidential, and accessible only to authorised staff involved in your care, or in the management of your records.

We use a range of physical and electronic security measures to protect your personal information from misuse and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

The following is a brief summary of our current practices and procedures in storing and securing data:

• We require people who contact My Aged Care or access information electronically through their Online Account (accessed via MyGov) to complete authentication and consent processes.
• We restrict physical access to our offices and use system security measures including containers, firewalls, secure databases, secure online payment systems, computer user identifiers and passwords.
• Only authorised personnel who have a need to know are allowed to access information held by us.
• We regularly update and audit our storage and data security systems.
• Our contracts with third parties require them to comply with the same privacy requirements as applicable to our department.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

It is important that your personal information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete.

You have a right to request access to your personal information and to request its correction.

You can access and correct your personal information yourself using your My Aged Care Online Account. You can also Contact us.

Your request should specify the information you are seeking or correcting and provide your contact details including an email address or mailing address.

Upon request or pursuant to the Privacy Act, we will provide you with access to your personal information or take reasonable steps to correct your personal information to ensure that it is accurate, up-to-date, complete, relevant and not misleading, subject to any applicable exceptions under the Privacy Act.

If you are unhappy with the response we provide, you may make a formal application for access or correction of personal information under the Privacy Act.

How do you make a complaint about our privacy practices?

If you wish to make a complaint about our privacy practices, you should contact us by:

• calling us on 1800 200 422
• making a written complaint to My Aged Care Complaints, PO Box 1237, Runaway Bay, QLD 4216.

We will aim to respond to your complaint within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a written complaint to the Privacy Commissioner. For more information about the Privacy Commissioner, see the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s website or telephone 1300 363 992 (local call charge).

Contact us

To find out more about how we manage personal information, you can Contact us, or read the privacy policy that applies to the Department as a whole.