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Compassion and Compliance: Releasing Records to Care-Leavers under Privacy and Freedom of Information Legislation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2013

Suellen Murray
Suellen Murray*
Affiliation:
Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University E-Mail: suellen.murray@rmit.edu.au
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Abstract

This article discusses the use of privacy and freedom of information legislation in relation to the release of care-leavers’ records in the Australian state of Victoria. First, it explains the relevance of privacy and freedom of information legislation to care-leavers’ access to records, that is that the subject of a record is entitled to access information held about them, subject to certain exemptions. Second, based on research interviews with care-leavers and record-holders, the article then discusses how the legislation is understood in practice and the difficulties that arise in determining what information can be released, particularly in relation to ‘third party data’ and ‘unreasonable disclosure’. Finally, the article considers how policy in this area could be improved to enhance the release of records.

Keywords

Care-leaversForgotten Australiansprivacy legislationfreedom of informationpersonal records
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 493 - 503
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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