The Victorian Budget 2018-19 included allocation of funds to a wide range of areas where
government needs to balance privacy concerns with the benefits of sharing
information. Common areas where this
arise are in family violence and in the health, disability, justice and
education sectors.
A key announcement in the Budget was the allocation of $13.4 million (and $30
million over the forward estimates) to support a new whole of Government initiative
known as the 'Child Information Sharing Reforms'. This initiative is underpinned by the Children
Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2018 which came into force on 10 April 2018. The reforms seek to protect vulnerable
children by simplifying and improving information sharing arrangements between specified
government agencies and service providers.
Knowing when and how to lawfully disclose information
in different contexts is vital. However,
an overly legalistic or unbalanced approach can lead to an unwillingness to
share information, which may result in negative outcomes for Victorians,
particularly for vulnerable families experiencing family violence who rely on a
number of integrated support services, built on effective information sharing.
A key objective of the Child Information Sharing Reforms
is to promote child wellbeing and safety by
enabling information sharing. Budget
funding will target training for workers to understand when it is appropriate to
share information, to improve early risk identification and intervention and
increase collaboration for the wellbeing and safety of children.
VGSO has extensive experience in advising on
information sharing in a wide range of different contexts. Please call one of our experts in this area
if you require assistance in understanding how to discharge your obligations
when sharing information:
Assistant Victorian Government Solicitor
9947 1404
Managing Principal Solicitor
9947 1403
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