Information and Privacy Statement
Overview
The NSW Government's privacy practices are regulated by the New South Wales Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and by the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (the Acts).
- This Information and Privacy Statement applies when you use our recruitment portal to create a profile to search or apply for jobs with the Department of Regional NSW;
- apply for a role advertised with the Department of Regional NSW;
- Participate in a recruitment process for a role with the Department of Regional NSW;
- Accept an offer of employment with the Department of Regional NSW; and/or
- Accept an offer to be placed on a recruitment pool for potential future vacancies at Department of Regional NSW or other NSW Government agencies
You should be aware that certain information relating to your use of our recruitment portal will be collected each time you visit. Additional information will be obtained if you create a profile to enable you to search for available positions or make an application for a position that is advertised on our recruitment portal, which is done through a related internet portal.
The Department of Regional NSW uses PageUp recruitment systems to manage candidate information and applications. This means certain information collected from you will be hosted on PageUp’s systems. See the PageUp FAQs for further information provided to jobseekers.
The Department of Regional NSW does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of any other third-party sites linked to our recruitment portal. You should make your own inquiries about the privacy practices of any linked websites before providing any personal information.
What information is collected through our recruitment portal?
Each time you use our recruitment portal, information is automatically recorded relating to the pages visited by you, the duration of your view of this page, the location you visited immediately prior to visiting our recruitment portal and your navigation habits.
During the application and recruitment process we will collect personal information which may include, but is not limited to, your name, contact details, employment history, qualifications and licences, work rights, referee details, financial information and information related to specific pre-employment checks for certain roles.
Sensitive information such as financial information will only be collected if you accept an offer of employment for payroll and personnel file purposes.
If you apply for a position involving child-related employment you will be asked to disclose whether you are a person who is prohibited from working with children, in accordance with the Child and Young Persons (Working with Children) Act 2012.
You may also be asked to voluntarily supply some diversity information as part of your personal profile, including your gender, background and personal needs.
If we agree that you can submit an alternative method of application, such as a written application, the information required to complete the application will also be collected by the Department of Regional NSW.
How do we use the information collected?
The information collected during each visit to our recruitment portal is used by the Department of Regional NSW to identify patterns of usage, to help us improve the portal and the services offered on it.
If you create a profile or apply for a job advertised on our recruitment portal the information you provide may be used to:
- assess your suitability for the specific role you have applied for;
- assess whether you are eligible to fill other vacant positions that arise at a later date in either the Department of Regional NSW, or in another NSW Government agency, and to make consequential offers of employment;
- perform checks relating to your suitability for employment (to the extent permitted by law) – including, but not limited, background checks in accordance with the requirements of the Child and Young Persons (Working with Children) Act 2012; and/or
- advise you of other employment opportunities within NSW Government that may interest you (for example, by email).
- make adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is accessible where a candidate has identified a specific accessibility requirement
Information provided will also be used to collate aggregated statistical data to measure the progress of inclusion and accessibility priorities or other employment related initiatives within the Department of Regional NSW and across other NSW Government agencies. This statistical data cannot be used to individually identify candidates.
Diversity Information:
When you apply for a role at the Department of Regional NSW you will be asked questions which we use to inform and monitor strategies to increase the diversity within our department as well as to improve accessibility and inclusion for all candidates and employees.
Providing this information is completely voluntary, and your decision whether to provide this information or not will have no bearing on the consideration of your application.
Information such as gender, culturally and linguistically diverse background, Aboriginality, disability status or any other diversity information we ask about remains confidential and will not be considered throughout the recruitment process except in the following situations:
- Where a candidate has shared their disability status and identified specific accessibility requirements, we will use the information provided to make any necessary adjustments to make the recruitment process accessible.
- Where a role is targeted or identified (which will be explicitly stated in the advertisement), we may use a candidate’s information to confirm their eligibility for the role, for example if the role is identified as only being open to Aboriginal or Torres Strait people.
Who has access to the information we collect?
When you provide personal information as part of your personal profile and/or in your application, the information may be provided to and/or accessible by:
- the relevant Department of Regional NSW staff who are involved in the recruitment process for the role you have applied for;
- other Department of Regional NSW staff or other NSW Government agencies for the purposes of considering your suitability for vacancies in those agencies (if you have been placed on a recruitment pool with your consent);
- your referees;
- security and law enforcement organisations (for the purposes of background checks); and
- other third parties who perform services on behalf of a NSW Government agency during the recruitment process.
Your personal information may also be disclosed to other parties in response to cases of unauthorised use or interference with the recruitment portal or in response to inappropriate communications that may be defamatory or abusive or as otherwise required or authorised under Australian law.
You should be aware that our service provider may also be required to disclose information in its databases to third parties under laws of foreign jurisdictions, such as for law enforcement purposes. For further information about our service provider's privacy obligations in this regard, please refer to its Privacy Statement on its website.
Can you refuse to provide personal information through our portal?
Information relating to your use of our recruitment portal is collected automatically when you visit, and it is not possible to prevent this information being collected.
When creating your profile or making an application, only information necessary to contact you and assess you for the specific role you are applying for is mandatory. You can choose not to provide certain information, including diversity information without any consequences for the recruitment process.
If you do not provide sufficient information to assess your suitability for the role, please be aware that you may not be shortlisted.
If you do not provide sufficient information for the department to undertake reference checks and other relevant pre-employment checks, including, but not limited to background checks for child-related employment, you may not be able to be appointed to the position even if you are otherwise the preferred candidate.
Is the information stored securely?
Usage information collected during your visit to our recruitment portal is stored in an appropriately secure format and held by the Department of Regional NSW for archival purposes. Please note that other NSW Government agencies that obtain information collected on our portal and receive information from it are subject to separate requirements for the storage and disposal of records that they hold.
What will we do with information provided as feedback?
The Department of Regional NSW is open to receiving feedback regarding our recruitment portal from users for regarding suggestions for improvement and to comment on the service.
If you provide us personal details for the purpose of receiving a reply to feedback, this information will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided. We will not add your email address or name to any mailing list.
The Department of Regional NSW may publish aggregated information about feedback on the site, to the extent that it does not identify, or cannot be used to identify, individual users.
Can I access my personal information or ask further questions?
You have the right to request information you have provided through a recruitment process to be deleted or corrected, subject to some exceptions allowed by law. We will give you reasons if we are unable to fulfil a request related to your personal information.
