Your responsibilities

A small boy of about eight sides on the grass. He's got short, brown, curly hair and a green t-shirt and teal pants. He is blowing on a dandelion like he's making a wish. The following examples can help you apply the guidance in practice and determine whether a requestor is, or is not, a representative. Remember, once you have determined a requestor is a representative, you still need to consider whether any of the refusal grounds apply.

Example 1: Parent with day-to-day care of child/young person – a representative

P is the parent of 12-year-old H and has day-to-day care of H. H sees their other parent occasionally under a contact arrangement. P has made a request to H’s school for the results of any assessments their child has undertaken during the term. H attends school regularly, is meeting all achievement expectations, and the school is not aware of any family issues impacting H.

Is P a representative?

Where a parent with day-to-day care of a child/young person requests information about that child/young person, they will generally be a representative – acting on the child/young person’s behalf. However, the school will still need to determine whether there are any factors that would indicate P is not acting on behalf of H.
H is at an age where they might be able to exercise their IPP 6 rights but would likely need assistance. At 12 years old, H may have views about the request and the school could consider whether to consult H. This might depend, for instance, on the nature and sensitivity of the information requested by the parent and the maturity and ability of H to understand express their views.

The school is not aware of any issues that indicate P is not acting in the best interests of their child, or that H would not want the information to be released to P.

In this case, it would be reasonable for the school to determine that P was acting as H’s representative.

Example 2: Non-custodial parent in acrimonious family situation

An Early Childhood Centre (ECE) has received a request from the parent of 4-year-old S. S’s parents are separated – S is with one parent (J) during the week, and their other parent (C) in the weekends. C picks S up from the ECE Service on Friday afternoons and drops S off on Monday mornings. C is requesting all notes the ECE Service has made about S while they are in the care of J.

The ECE Service has no current concerns about S’s safety or wellbeing or the care of S while with each parent, but they are aware that the parent’s relationship with each other is acrimonious. C has mentioned to a staff member that they have started the process of seeking additional contact with S.

Is C a representative?

C doesn’t have day-to-day care of S but does have guardianship rights the same as the parent with day-to-day care. The ECE Service should determine whether C is a representative – acting on behalf of S – in the same way they would for J who has day-to-day care of S.

S is too young be able to exercise their own IPP 6 rights. It is in S’s best interests that C has information about S to support their care of S during the weekends. However, given the knowledge the ECE Service has about the acrimonious nature of the parents’ relationship, that C is seeking additional contact through the Family Court, and the nature of the information C is requesting, it is reasonable for the ECE Service to question the breadth and nature of the information requested, e.g., does it go beyond what is needed to support C’s weekend care of S.

In this case, it would be reasonable for the ECE Service to determine that C was acting as a S’s representative in respect of information needed to provide care to S, but not for information beyond that.

If S is appointed a Lawyer for the Child during the custody dispute, then the lawyer could request relevant information about S for that purpose.

Example 3: Non-custodial parent – a representative

D is the parent of 11-year-old K. D does not have day-to-day care of K but looks after them every second weekend. K has learning disabilities and is receiving learning support services through their school. D provided consent, along with K’s other parent, for a third-party organisation to provide the services to K. While it is generally K’s other parent that brings them to the sessions, on occasions, both parents have attended.

D has made a request to the organisation for information about the services being provided and the outcomes of any assessments the organisation has undertaken.

Is D a representative?

D doesn’t have day-to-day care of K but does have guardianship rights in the same way as the parent with day-to-day care. The organisation should determine whether D is a representative –acting on behalf of K - in the same way they would for the parent who has day-to-day care of K.

K is too young to be able to exercise their own IPP 6 rights. Both parents have provided consent for the organisation to provide support services to K and there is no information known to the organisation that indicates D is not acting in the best interests of K when requesting the information.

At 11 years old, K may have views about the request and the provider could consider whether to consult them. This might depend, for instance, on the nature and sensitivity of the information requested by the parent and the maturity and ability of K to understand and express their views. The provider should also consider what K was told about who could access their information at the time the services started (and since then).

In this case it would be reasonable for the organisation to determine that D was acting as K’s representative. The agency may also want to consider whether both parents should receive the same information about K at the same time.

Example 4: Family member looking after child/young person – a representative

S is an extended family member of 7-year-old J. S has made an IPP 6 request to an NGO for information about services the NGO is providing to J. One of J’s parents lives overseas and is uncontactable, and their other parent is unwell and currently unable to care for J on a day-to-day basis. S is living in the family home with J and their parent and is looking after J fulltime while their parent is undergoing medical treatment. There is no legal guardianship order in place, but S has provided evidence that they are living with and caring for J and the extent of J’s parent’s illness.

Is S a representative?

While J is living with one parent, that parent is not well enough to care for J on a day-to-day basis. Due to their age, J would not be able to exercise their own IPP 6 rights. In the circumstance described, S is acting as J’s primary caregiver while their parent is unwell. S has taken on responsibility for J’s day-to-day care including getting them to school and other appointments while their parent is unable to.

There are no circumstances that the NGO is aware of that would indicate S is not acting in the best interests of J, nor is there any indication that J doesn’t want their information being released to S. It is in J’s best interests that S has information about J to support their care of J while their parent is unwell. This may depend on the breadth and nature of the information requested, e.g., does it go beyond what is needed to support S’s temporary care of J. J’s parent is unwell, but not out of the picture and the agency could consult them as appropriate.

In this case, while S is not J’s parent or legal guardian it would be reasonable for the NGO to determine that S was acting as J’s representative in respect of information needed to provide care to J.

Example 5: Caregiver of child/young person requesting information about attendance – not a representative

D cares for 9-year-old E after school for a couple of hours until E’s parents finish work. D has been caring for E after school for the last three years. D is registered with the school as a person authorised to pick E up and meets E at the school gates each afternoon. D is known to the teachers and other parents at the school pickup area.

The school has received a request from D seeking information about the learning support services that E is receiving at the school. D has not said in their request whether E’s parents have authorised D to make the request on their behalf.

Is D a representative?

To be a representative the person making the request must be acting on the child or young person’s behalf. The school needs to consider whether D is acting as representative for E.

E is too young to be able to exercise their own IPP 6 rights and D is not their parent or legal guardian. While it may be in E’s best interests that D has information about E to support their afterschool care of E, what information is disclosed will depend on the breadth and nature of the information requested, e.g. does it go beyond what is needed to support D’s afterschool care of E. In these circumstances, this probably does not extend to information about the services E is receiving regarding their learning disabilities. The school should check with E’s parents as to whether D is acting on behalf of E. The school should also consider what E’s parents said about what information D could access at the time authorisation was given for D to collect E from school.

In this case, it would be reasonable for the school to determine that D was not a representative in respect of this information. E’s parents should make the request – the school can then determine whether, in the circumstances, the parents are acting as E’s representative. In these circumstances, it would be reasonable for the school to determine that E’s parents were acting as E’s representative.

Example 6: Parents requesting health information

Health Care United is a health care provider offering a range of health care services including counselling services. M is 14 years old and has been receiving counselling services at Health Care United for the last 12 months. M’s parents provided consent for counselling services to be provided to M and both parents bring M to their appointments.

Health Care United has received a request from M’s parents requesting all information Health Care United holds about M including all notes taken by her counsellor during her counselling sessions.

Are M’s parent’s representatives?

The Health Act and the Health Information Privacy Code (HIPC) apply to this situation as M’s parents are requesting health information from a health agency. Under the Health Act a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16 is considered a representative.

In this case, the parents are representatives as M is under 16 years old.

Under HIPC, a request made by a representative is treated as a Rule 6 request (the health equivalent of an IPP 6 request). Just like IPP 6, Health Care United still need to consider whether one of the refusal grounds apply in the circumstances. At 14 years old, M may have views about the request and the provider should consider whether to consult them. This might depend, for instance, on the nature and sensitivity of the information requested by the parents, e.g., high level diagnosis or treatment information may be different to copies of session notes. The provider should also consider what M was told about who could access to their information at the time the services started (and since then).

Example 7: Parent request where protection order exists – not a representative

M is 14 years old and lives with one parent. Their parents have recently separated and there is a protection order in place protecting M and their day-to-day parent from the other parent. In this instance the other parent still has guardianship rights. The day-to-day parent has provided the school with a copy of the protection order. The protection order provides that M’s other parent is to have no contact with them or the other parent. M and their day-to-day parent have recently moved into a new house, and M’s day-to-day parent has changed their contact details.

The school has received a request from M’s other parent. The other parent is requesting M’s updated enrolment information.

Is M’s other parent a representative?

While it is one of M’s parents who is making the request, the school needs to determine whether they are acting as M’s representative. At 14 years old, M is likely capable of being able to understand and exercise their IPP 6 rights, but they may require some assistance from an adult to exercise their rights.

However, the school is aware of the protection order that is in place and is aware that that M’s other parent does not currently know where M and their day-to-day parent are living or their new contact information. There are good grounds to consider that it is not in M’s best interests for other parent to exercise M’s IPP 6 rights on their behalf in respect of contact information. Informing M’s other parent location and contact information could expose M and their day-to-day parent to further harm and disruption.

In this case it would be reasonable for the school to determine that M’s other parent was not a representative. However, given the other parent’s guardianship rights, it might be reasonable for the other parent to request and receive other information about M, such as school reports or school photographs under section 103 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

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