The purpose of this Circular is to revise the Guidelines on Disclosure of Information During Industrial Consultations. The previous guidelines were based on the requirements for disclosure of personal information set by the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and were originally distributed in Circular C2003-50.

The Health Records and Information Act 2002 is now in force and also governs the disclosure of personal and health information.  The revised guidelines cover the requirements as detailed in both Acts. 

The guidelines recognise that industrial relations and occupational health and safety legislation may require personal information to be disclosed in certain circumstances.
Advice from public sector unions and Privacy NSW was sought in revising these guidelines.

Schedule 1 Agencies under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 are required to adopt the guidelines. Other public sector agencies and State Owned Corporations are encouraged to adopt the guidelines.

Robyn Kruk
Director General