Collection of personal and health information statement

Collection of personal and health information to manage your claim

In receiving and processing your claim, the Victorian WorkCover Authority (WorkSafe) and any WorkSafe agent acting for WorkSafe in relation to your claim may collect personal and health information about you. WorkSafe and its agents are required by law to ensure that all people about whom they collect personal and health information are provided with the following information:

WorkSafe is a body corporate established under the Victorian workers' compensation legislation. Agents are appointed by WorkSafe under that legislation to act on its behalf in managing workers' compensation policies and claims for compensation.

Personal and health information about you is collected on the Workers injury claim form and may also be collected during the processing, assessing and management of your claim. It may be collected from your current, previous and future employers, other government agencies, credit reporting agencies, health service providers and other persons who can provide information relevant to the claim.

Personal and health information about you may also be collected by solicitors, private investigators, loss adjusters and other service providers acting on behalf of WorkSafe or your employer's agent.

Personal and health information collected about you is used for the purposes of:

• contacting you about your claim
• processing, assessing and managing your claim, and
• to verify any evidence you may submit in support of the claim

The information may also be used for one or more of the purposes listed in Victorian workers' compensation legislation for the purposes of legal proceedings arising under that legislation, to assist with your rehabilitation and return to work and to assist WorkSafe and agents to better manage claims generally.

For the purposes of processing, assessing and managing your claim, WorkSafe and your employer's agent may disclose personal and health information about you to each other and to the following types of organisations:

• employees, contractors and agents of WorkSafe and agents
• your employers
• solicitors, medical practitioners (including Independent Medical Examiners) and other health service providers, private investigators, loss adjusters and other service providers acting on behalf of WorkSafe or the agent in relation to the claim
• the Workplace Injury Commission and Medical Panels
• any committee established under legislation to advise WorkSafe
• a court or tribunal in the course of criminal proceedings or any proceedings under any of the Acts which WorkSafe administers
• any other person, organisation or government agency authorised by you, or by law, to obtain the information

Collection of this information may be required by Victorian workers' compensation legislation. If you do not provide any part or all of this information, your claim may not be accepted or processed. You may request access to personal and health information about you collected by WorkSafe or your employer’s agent by contacting your employer's agent.

WorkSafe's policies for managing personal and health information are set out in its Privacy Policy, which is available from your nearest WorkSafe office or at the WorkSafe website. Information relating to your right to access your WorkSafe claim information is also available at the website.

* References to 'your claim' include a partially completed and saved claim form, and include any provisional payments you may be entitled to. If your employer is an approved self-insurer, references to 'WorkSafe' and 'agent' should be read as if they were references to 'self-insurer' and 'approved agent of a self-insurer'.