NSW public offices collect personal contact information for a number of purposes, such as:
- marketing and information purposes
- safety and security purposes
- service provision purposes.
Please note that personal contact information may be considered confidential and its disclosure should be governed by the purposes of its collection. For more information, check the resources available in https://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/privacy/privacy-resources-public-sector-agencies/fact-sheets-guidelines-and-other-resources
Section 22 of the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order (No 4) 2020 contains recordkeeping requirements that NSW public offices must comply. Specifically:
- keep a record of name and contact information for all staff, volunteers, visitors and contractors for a period of at least 4 weeks or 28 days.
- on request, provide the record to the Chief Health Officer.
Please note that the retention period as set out in the public health order is only a minimum retention period.
This guidance provides some scenarios relating to retention periods of contact information collected by NSW public offices. If you discover other scenarios that may be relevant to any NSW government agency that are not listed here, or have any other records-related enquiries, please contact us at govrec@records.nsw.gov.au.