Protecting the privacy of people with disability
Information about an employee’s disability will often involve sensitive personal issues.
To encourage employees to be open with you about disability issues, you need to assure them that their personal information will be treated appropriately.
If an employee discloses a disability, you are required to keep all information about the disability confidential. In order to share information about an employee’s disability with others in your organisation, you must get written consent from the employee.
The Australian Network on Disability have released a guidance paper for Employers titled ‘Sharing and Monitoring Disability Information in your workplace, A guide for Employers’.
All employees’ rights to privacy are protected under the Privacy Act 1988.
For more information on privacy law, visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.
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