Privacy parasites – privasites – are people who prey on others, demanding copies or scans of licences, when usually they have no rights whatsoever, just a ‘You show us yours’ mentality.
FAQ: Show us your licence
…and we’ll scan it and keep a copy !!
Q: I am a tradesman and recently had to attend a job at a building in the Brisbane CBD. I was asked to provide my Qld driver’s licence, which the security wanted to scan for their records. I refused saying that you can sight it and scan it but not with my licence number on display. This wasn’t good enough so I was not allowed to work on this site.
How is this company allowed to keep my private info on file or refuse me work on site? Any info or help on this would be appreciated, thank you.
A: Without knowing the specifics of the security firm in question, we can only provide some general comments.
If the construction business employing the security firm is covered by the AustralianPrivacy Act 1988, then they must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles. A breach of these principles is a violation of the Privacy Act.
One of these principles imposes extra obligations on companies which want to record and store a ‘government identifier’ such as a driver’s licence or a Tax File Number. A business must, generally, have a legitimate reason for collecting that information, which should be spelt out in the Privacy Policy (which, by law, the business is are required to have). They must also tell you what they will do with your information and seek your consent should they want to use it for any other purposes.
You could ask the company to provide you with a copy of their privacy policy and ask them to point out which part of it justifies the collection of a driver’s licence. That said, many business do adopt a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ approach to individuals, regardless of what the law says.
If that is the situation, you can make a formal complaint to the Australian Privacy Commissioner who can investigate and, if a breach of the Privacy Act is found, fine the company involved. You can lodge a complaint at this website: https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/how-do-i-make-a-privacy-complaint Alternatively, if the company is not covered by the national Privacy Act, you may be able to make a complain to the Queensland Office of the Information Commissioner:http://www.oic.qld.gov.au/
All the best with your matter, CLA
Note: Each state/territory has similar ways of making a complaint.