Collection of Personal Information by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs and Border Protection) collects and retains personal information in relation to persons and goods entering or exiting Australia. This is to protect the Australian community as well as to ensure compliance with Australian laws.
Personal information is collected under the Customs Act 1901 and other Acts administered by Customs and Border Protection. Customs and Border Protection uses the information to protect the safety, security and commercial interests of Australians through border protection designed to support legitimate trade and travel and ensure collection of border revenue and trade statistics.
Information is collected from a wide variety of sources including other government agencies, non-government agencies and individuals. Information collected includes:
- Passenger Name Record (PNR) data;
- Integrated Cargo System (ICS) data;
- Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) data;
- SmartGate data; and
- Passenger Analysis Clearance Evaluation (PACE) data
Customs and Border Protection is committed to protecting the privacy and security of all personal information collected. When dealing with personal information Customs and Border Protection:
- collects it in a fair and lawful manner;
- checks the accuracy of the information before it is used;
- keeps it stored securely to safeguard against unauthorised access;
- ensures it is used only for the purpose for which it was collected (unless authorised by law) and;
- ensures the information is not disclosed other than in the course of performing Customs and Border Protection duties or where disclosure is authorised by section 16 of the Customs Administration Act 1985 or another law.
Customs and Border Protection ensures all personal information obtained is collected, used, stored and disclosed in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 and the Guidelines for Federal Government issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Customs and Border Protection may disclose information it obtains to agencies authorised by law to receive it including other Australian Government agencies. All information released by Customs and Border Protection is done so in accordance with section 16 of the Customs Administration Act 1985 and the Privacy Act 1988.
Members of the public can apply for a copy or view documents that Customs and Border Protection holds containing information relating to them. Persons wishing to obtain information that is held by Customs and Border Protection can apply for access by completing a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and forwarding it to Customs and Border Protection through the FOI Coordinator (email: foi@customs.gov.au).
For further information in relation to the use of personal information and the Information Privacy Principles, members of the public can contact the Customs Privacy Contact Officer on : (02) 6275 5621 or email at foi@customs.gov.au