Your privacy

The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) gives you a right to the personal information that the State Library holds about you and to request amendment to that information.

Personal information or health information contained in a document kept in the Library's collections for the purpose of reference, study or exhibition or held in a 'publicly available publication' is exempt from NSW privacy legislation.

How can I find out if the library holds personal information about me?

One way is to look in our Privacy Management Plan for a listing of the major types of personal information we hold about people.

Or you can ask our Privacy Contact Officer to assist you to find out.

How can I access the information the library holds about me?

You can ask to access (see or copy) any personal information the Library holds about you.

There is no fee to lodge your request for access. But we can charge reasonable fees for copying or inspection. Use the Access or amend personal information form to make your request.

Can I have my personal information amended?

You can apply to have your personal information amended. We will amend the information if we agree with you that the information needs changing, to ensure it is accurate, relevant, up to date, complete and not misleading.

If we don’t believe the information needs changing, we will instead allow you to add a statement to our records.

There is no fee to lodge your request for amendment, but we can charge reasonable fees for making an amendment.

Use the Access or amend personal information form to make your request.

Are there any exemptions?

Yes. There are some grounds on which we can refuse to give you access to your personal information, or to amend it. They include things like if a document is confidential because of legal professional privilege.

What if the library doesn't do what I ask?

If we:

don’t let you see your personal information, or
refuse to amend your personal information

you can make a privacy complaint.

What if a third party requests access to my personal information?

Access to your personal information will not be provided to a third party without your written consent except where it is required or permitted by law.

Written consent may be in the form of a letter, or on the Library's Third party access form.

Proof of identity of the individuals concerned will be required before access is given to a third party.