The NSW Reconstruction Authority, Revenue NSW and Service NSW are delivering the Disaster Relief Grant (the Program) on behalf of the NSW Government. The NSW Reconstruction Authority and Revenue NSW (‘We’) are collecting your personal information to assess your eligibility for the Program and for related purposes. Your personal information will be stored and protected appropriately to the sensitivity of this information.

Why your personal information is being collected

We collect your personal information for:

  • processing your application and determining your eligibility for the Program 
  • providing you with further information about the Program
  • payment of funds to eligible customers  
  • other directly related purposes.  

Service NSW may collect your name and contact information when taking enquiries in relation to the program and to refer you to the NSW Reconstruction Authority or Revenue NSW where appropriate.

Types of personal information collected

We may collect the following personal information: 

  • your full name
  • your date of birth
  • your contact number 
  • your residential address
  • your postal address
  • address of the affected property
  • your income
  • your Centrelink Reference Number
  • your mortgage or rental payment details
  • lender or landlord details
  • ownership status of the affected property
  • confirmation of the affected property being your normal residence
  • whether the affected property is a temporary dwelling
  • your asset/investment details
  • your spouse’s/partner’s asset/investment details
  • whether you own or are in the process of purchasing additional property
  • details of other assets owned or being purchased excluding contents of affected property
  • reasons preventing you from using your assets/investments towards restoring your losses
  • your insurance details and coverage
  • your bank details
  • your employment details (occupation and name of employer)
  • if there are additional members living at the affected property:
    • their name
    • their date of birth
    • their Centrelink Reference Number
    • their relationship to you
    • their income details
    • their occupation or benefits/pension details.

Service NSW may collect your:

  • full name
  • contact number
  • email address.

We do not require you to disclose your tax file number for the purposes of the Program. If you submit information to us that includes your tax file number, for example, an Australian income tax return, you should remove or obscure your tax file number where possible. In the event that you are not able to remove or obscure your tax file number, we will not make use of that tax file number for any purpose and will take reasonable security measures to protect your tax file number from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse.

How your information will be used and disclosed

As part of the assessment and eligibility process, your personal information will be shared between the NSW Reconstruction Authority and Revenue NSW.

We may use your personal information to:

  • verify the information you provide with a public/private authority
  • contact you about your application, including to confirm the information in your application or to request additional information, or to discuss the outcome of your application
  • contact you to invite you to participate in voluntary evaluation of the Program
  • assess your eligibility for other state and Commonwealth government financial support programs
  • contact you about registering your interest in being notified of other available disaster recovery support
  • collect, maintain and use information about you for our internal administrative purposes, including for the purpose of our interactions with you
  • identify other administered grants, vouchers or rebates for which you may be eligible, or to identify other products and services that may be relevant to you.  

We may disclose the information in your application to: 

  • the National Emergency Management Agency (previously called the National Recovery and Resilience Agency), the Australian National Audit Office (and any contractors engaged by them for the purposes of conducting an audit) for the purpose of administering, auditing, reporting and evaluating the Program
  • public/private entities (including the Document Verification Service) in order to verify the information, you provide in support of your application or request additional information
  • NSW Police, if we reasonably a case of fraud or other criminal activity
  • Service NSW to administer payment for the Program
  • other government agencies such as NSW Public Works to assist with determining eligibility of the program
  • NSW Treasury and/or the Department of Customer Service for the purposes of data analysis and aggregation so that NSW Treasury can analyse and report on the Program. Any report or publications on the evaluation of the Program will not identify any individual that has registered or participated in Program.  

We may share de-identified information for research and statistical purposes in accordance with the Data Sharing (Government Sector) Act 2015.  

Service NSW may disclose your personal information to Westpac for the purposes of administering the funds to your bank.

We will not provide your personal information to third parties for any purposes not already stated in this privacy collection notice, or to which you have not otherwise consented, unless we are required, or authorised, by law to do so. This may include disclosure to other government agencies and partners. Disclosure may also be made to law enforcement, dispute resolution, statutory or regulatory bodies, or as required by law.

Whether you are required by law to provide us with this information

We will only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary. Providing us with the requested information is voluntary. If you choose not to provide us with the requested information, your application for the Program may not be progressed,  and we may not be able to contact you to provide you with information about the Program.

How we keep your information secure

We will take reasonable security measures to protect your personal information that is held from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse.

Further information

You may ask for access   to the information the NSW Reconstruction Authority hold about you at any time and request to update, correct or amend your personal information by contacting Disaster Relief Grants on drg@reconstruction.nsw.gov.au

Please visit Service NSW Privacy for more information about how Service NSW handles your personal information.

Please visit Revenue NSW Privacy Policy for more information about how Revenue NSW handles your personal information.
 

Last updated: 5 September 2024