Higher Education Support Amendment (Maximum Payment Amounts and Other Measures) Act 2012 (156 of 2012)

Schedule 3  

Part 1   Amendments

Higher Education Support Act 2003

2   Division 180

Repeal the Division, substitute:

Division 180 - Other rules about information

180-1 What this Division is about

This Division authorises the disclosure and use of Higher Education Support Act information for certain purposes.

180-5 Meaning of Higher Education Support Act information

Higher Education Support Act information means:

(a) *personal information; and

(b) *VET personal information; and

(c) information obtained or created by a *Commonwealth officer as a result of a survey of the kind referred to in section 180-30; and

(d) any other information obtained or created by a Commonwealth officer for the purposes of this Act.

180-10 Disclosure and use by Commonwealth officers

(1) A *Commonwealth officer may disclose *Higher Education Support Act information to another Commonwealth officer to assist that other officer in the other officer’s *official employment (within the meaning of section 179-15).

(2) A *Commonwealth officer may use *Higher Education Support Act information in the course of the officer’s *official employment (within the meaning of section 179-15).

180-15 Disclosure of information to TEQSA

The *Secretary may disclose *Higher Education Support Act information to:

(a) *TEQSA; or

(b) a member of the staff of TEQSA (within the meaning of the *TEQSA Act);

for the performance of duties or functions, or the exercise of powers, under, or for the purposes of, that Act.

180-20 Disclosure of information to the National VET Regulator

The *Secretary may disclose *Higher Education Support Act information to:

(a) the *National VET Regulator; or

(b) a member of the staff of the Regulator (within the meaning of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011);

for the performance of duties or functions, or the exercise of powers, under, or for the purposes of, that Act.

180-25 Disclosure of information to other bodies

Disclosure

(1) The *Secretary may disclose *Higher Education Support Act information to a person referred to in subsection (3) for any of the following purposes (a permitted purpose ):

(a) improving the provision of higher education or vocational education and training;

(b) research relating to the provision of higher education or vocational education and training, including research relating to:

(i) quality assurance; or

(ii) planning the provision of higher education or vocational education and training.

(2) However, if the information was provided by a higher education provider or a *VET provider, then the *Secretary may only disclose the information under subsection (1) to a person referred to in paragraph (3)(b), (c) or (d) if the provider consents to that disclosure.

Persons to which information may be disclosed

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the persons are the following:

(a) a person (an officer ) who is employed or engaged by a State or Territory agency;

(b) an *officer of a higher education provider;

(c) an *officer of a VET provider;

(d) a person (an officer ) who is employed or engaged by a body or association determined by the Minister under subsection (4).

(4) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination in relation to a body or association for the purposes of paragraph (3)(d).

Use of the information

(5) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person uses information for a purpose; and

(b) the purpose is not a permitted purpose; and

(c) the information is *personal information or *VET personal information; and

(d) the information was disclosed under subsection (1) to the person or another person when the person or other person was an officer of a body referred to in subsection (3); and

(e) the information was not obtained or created by an *officer for the purposes of Part 2-3.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

Further disclosure of the information

(6) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person discloses information; and

(b) the information is *personal information or *VET personal information; and

(c) the information was disclosed under subsection (1) to the person or another person when the person or other person was an officer of a body referred to in subsection (3); and

(d) either or both of the following apply:

(i) the disclosure is not for a permitted purpose;

(ii) the disclosure is to a person who is not an officer of that body; and

(e) the information was not obtained or created by an *officer for the purposes of Part 2-3.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

180-30 Use of information to conduct surveys

A *Commonwealth officer may use *Higher Education Support Act information in order to conduct a survey of staff, students or former students of higher education providers or *VET providers for any of the following purposes:

(a) improving the provision of higher education or vocational education and training;

(b) research relating to the provision of higher education or vocational education and training, including research relating to:

(i) quality assurance; or

(ii) planning the provision of higher education or vocational education and training.

180-35 This Division does not limit disclosure or use of information

This Division does not limit the disclosure or use of *Higher Education Support Act information.

Note: The disclosure or use of Higher Education Support Act information may also be authorised in other circumstances. For example, see Division 179, Division 14 of Schedule 1A and the Privacy Act 1988.