Vetboard Victoria identity verification collection notice
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This policy explains how the Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria (Vetboard Victoria, we, us, our) will collect, use, disclose and store your personal information to verify your identity document(s).
Vetboard Victoria will only collect, use, disclose and store your personal information to verify your identity document(s) with your express consent.
We are bound by the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in that Act, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act) and the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) in the PDP Act, and the Identity Verification Services Act 2023 (IVS Act) and the Identity Verification Rules 2024. Your personal information will be handled in accordance with our obligations under this legislation.
Why is your personal information being collected?
Vetboard Victoria is authorised under section 4(3)(c) of the Veterinary Practice Act 1997 to verify the identity of persons applying for registration as a veterinary practitioner in Victoria.
We collect your personal information for the purpose of verifying your identity so we can process your application for registration as a veterinary practitioner in Victoria.
How will we handle your personal information?
We use the Attorney General’s Department’s Document Verification Service and Face Verification Services to verify your identity in a way that is secure, fast and private. We do not need to keep copies of your identity documents, which helps to protect your privacy.
Vetboard Victoria has contracted a third party known as a Gateway Service Provider (GSP) to facilitate verification of your identity document(s). Our GSP is GBG (Australia) Pty Ltd (GBG). GBG is an Australian Government-approved GSP: www.idmatch.gov.au/organisations/business-user/approved-gateway-service-providers
If you consent to the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information to verify your identity document(s) on GBG’s GreenID platform, GBG will collect:
- biographic information including your name, date of birth, government related identifier such as a driver licence, passport number or visa number
- a copy of your identity document(s)
- biometric information in the form of a facial image.
You will provide this information to GBG online via your mobile device.
GBG will disclose the information you provide to the Document Verification Service Hub (the DVS Hub). The DVS Hub is administered by the Attorney General’s Department via secure and encrypted communications. See the next section for information about how your personal information is protected by the Attorney General’s Department.
The DVS Hub will match your information against official records held by the government agency which issued your identity document (Document Issuer), e.g. VicRoads if you have provided your Victorian Driver’s Licence.
The DVS Hub will advise GBG whether the information you provide matches official government records. This “match response” will be stored by GBG on its systems along with your personal information. This information will be retained for no longer than 12 months.
When processing your registration application, Vetboard Victoria staff will access your GBG record to check that your identity has been verified. Your documents will not be stored on Vetboard Victoria’s systems.
How will the Attorney-General's Department handle your personal information?
The Attorney General's Department is authorised to operate the DVS Hub for the purpose of verifying individual’s identities under the IVS Act.
The DVS Hub facilitates information transfer between us and the Document Issuer. The DVS Hub itself does not retain any personal information and Vetboard Victoria cannot view or edit any of the personal information transmitted through the DVS Hub.
The Attorney General's Department engages a third-party provider as a managed service provider for the DVS, who is required to adhere to the APP requirements and security standards to ensure the use and disclosure of personal information is limited to explicitly defined purposes including:
- for the purposes of the contract with the department
- to comply with any request under section 95C of the Privacy Act.
For more information on how the Attorney General's Department may handle your personal information, see the Attorney General's Department's 'Privacy Statement - Identify Verification Services' at: www.idmatch.gov.au/resources/privacy-statement-identity-verification-services.
How will the Document Issuer handle your personal information?
Your personal information will be shared by the Attorney General's Department via the DVS Hub with the government agency that issued your identity document to verify it against their official records. These agencies already hold your personal information as part of their official records, in line with their own privacy policies and legal obligations.
What happens if you do not provide your personal information?
You do not have to agree to verify your identity documents through the Document Verification Service via our Gateway Service Provider (GBG). You can choose instead to provide a high-quality colour copy (in PDF format) of your relevant identity document(s) which has been certified as a true copy of the original document by a person authorised to certify documents. Further information: www.justice.vic.gov.au/certifiedcopies
If you do not provide the relevant personal information we require to verify your identity, we may not be able to process your application for registration as a veterinary practitioner in Victoria.
Further information
More information about how we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy: www.vetboard.vic.gov.au/VPRBV/VPRBV/Documents/Privacy_Policy.aspx. Our Privacy Policy outlines how you can access and seek correction of the personal information that we hold about you. It also contains information about our complaint handling process, including how you may complain about a breach of an IPP in the PDP Act, and how we will deal with such a complaint.