The Department’s work includes:
- the administration of courts and tribunals;
- managing prisons and youth detention centres;
- providing advice to sentencing and releasing authorities;
- supervising adult and juvenile offenders in the community;
- supporting witnesses and victim-survivors;
- developing policy law reforms; and
- enforcing fines and penalties.
Some justice services are carried out by statutory officers and their division or contracted service providers.
Definitions
Health Information – Means sensitive personal information that relates to a person’s health or disability. It also includes information about health services and preferences for future healthcare. The Department considers information about a person’s mental or psychological wellbeing to be health information.
Personal Information – Means information or opinions relating to an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from that information or opinion. This includes things like names, dates of birth, addresses, pseudonyms.
Sensitive Personal Information – Personal information related to a person’s racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, political, and philosophical identity or practices. It also refers to information about a person’s union or trade association membership, criminal records, and their health, genetic, genomic, or biometric information. This information is subject to additional privacy protections.
Information Collection and Use
We collect personal information to carry out our responsibilities or because the law requires it. This includes work related to courts and prisons, law enforcement, and law reform.
The types of information collected can include, but is not limited to:
- Correspondence from the public, including management of feedback, enquiries and complaints.
- Birth, death and marriage records,
- Information about young people and adults charged or sentenced for a criminal offence.
- Information about witnesses or victim-survivors.
- Information about people involved in civil court cases.
- Information about adult prisoners or young people in detention, including sensitive personal details like family history, health information, including mental health.
- Information about adult and juvenile offenders on community supervision orders.
- Details of staff, job applicants, service providers, volunteers and visitors, including identity checks and criminal history screening.
- Information about people in civil processes of the State Administrative Tribunal.
Disclosure
We may share your personal, sensitive and health information with other agencies or organisations when it is needed for the purpose it was collected. For example, details in an Order issued by the court may be given to the Western Australia Police Force so the order can be served and enforced.
Sometimes we may share your personal information with other agencies or third parties for reasons other than the original purpose it was collected.
Examples include:
- For research and evaluation purposes.
- To assist victims of crime.
- To respond to a threat of harm.
We may share information for reasons other than for the original purpose when:
- The law allows us to share the information;
- We are legally required to provide it; or
- You have given informed consent for us to share it.
Exemptions from privacy legislation:
In some situations, the Department does not have to follow privacy requirements, such as when:
- It is reasonably necessary for law enforcement;
- Another law gives specific directions on how the information must be managed; or
- The information is already publicly available.
Storage and Protection
We keep your information secure and manage it according to the WA Government Cyber Security Policy and the State Records Act 2000 (WA). Records are stored, protected, and disposed of based on their sensitivity, with safeguards to prevent unauthorised access, misuse, disclosure, or loss.
Accessing or correcting your personal information
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1992, you have the right to access personal information held by government agencies. You can also ask us to correct information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or misleading.
To request access or a correction, submit a written application to our Freedom of Information team. For more information, refer to Freedom of Information.
If your matter relates to accessing or correcting personal information held by the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, there may be other restrictions. Please refer to The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
If your matter relates to information held by a court, refer to the eCourts Portal.
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