This Privacy Policy explains how the Mental Health Commission (Commission) manages personal information. 

For specific details about how your personal information is collected in a particular form, service or activity, please refer to the collection notice provided at that point of collection.

Collection and management of personal information 

The Commission will only collect personal information where it is necessary for delivering one or more of its functions or activities, including: 

Services and Programs

The Commission facilitates the delivery of mental health, alcohol and other drugs services and programs, while leading the transformation required across the system to better meet the needs of the community into the future. 

The Commission is responsible for the commissioning and service development of specialised mental health services in liaison with the Department of Health, Health Service Providers and their respective boards. 

The Commission also provides support line services directly to the WA Community. These include:

• Here For You
• Alcohol and Drug Support Line
• Parent and Family Drug Support Line.

Initiatives and Campaigns

The Commission leads development, implementation and coordination of initiatives to reduce the prevalence of mental health problems, suicide and the impacts of alcohol and other drug use in the community, including culturally secure initiatives in Aboriginal communities.

The Commission delivers state-wide public health education programs that support the community to make informed decisions about alcohol, other drugs, mental health and wellbeing, and social and emotional wellbeing. 

These campaigns inform and educate the community via mass reach social marketing strategies. These campaigns include:

• Alcohol. Think Again
• Drug Aware
• Think Mental Health
• Strong Spirit Strong Mind 

Strategy and Projects

The Commission develops strategy and service planning aligned to the Western Australian Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategy 2026-2031. The Commission is leading significant, system-wide reform to better serve the Western Australian community.

Policy and Governance

The Commission develops, implements, monitors and evaluates key mental health and alcohol and other drugs legislation. Policy and governance activities include:

• providing policy advice, development and coordination across the Commission, Government and community including initiatives of state-wide impact
• facilitating consumer, family and carer engagement within policy and project development, implementation and evaluation
• developing sector capacity in the delivery of mental illness prevention, alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment services, and culturally secure training
• managing data collection systems used for contract acquittal, epidemiological analysis, service planning, commissioning and meet mandatory national data submissions and reporting
• leading purchasing and development of mental health and alcohol and other drug services from non-government organisations
• monitoring performance and evaluation of commissioned services.

Use and Disclosure Collection

The Commission will only use or disclose an individual’s personal information for the purpose it was collected or for a purpose required or permitted by law. 

The personal and sensitive personal information collected from individuals may be used: 

• to provide individuals with the service that they requested or to meet the purpose for which the information was submitted
• to carry out our functions or activities set out in legislation
• to identify who we are communicating with (if necessary) 
• to create de-identified data that informs service delivery or enables understanding of systemic issues 
• for other purposes explained at the time of collection or otherwise as set out in this Privacy Policy. 

The Commission will also use and disclose personal information for a range of administrative, management, and operational purposes. The Commission may also be required to release personal information under other law, such as for a criminal proceeding.

Information Sharing  

If sharing information under the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing legislation or other applicable legislation, the Commission will apply the Responsible Information Sharing Principles to make informed decisions about the sharing of personal information.

Disclosures outside Australia

The Commission will not send personal information or sensitive personal information outside of Australia unless authorised by law or with the individual’s consent. 

Website and social media

The Commission may ask for personal information (e.g. name, contact details) to provide a particular service via its website (www.mhc.wa.gov.au). Any personal information provided to the Commission will be managed in accordance with the Privacy Policy. 

The Commission also maintains official social media and networking channels, such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to share relevant information with the public and answer general queries. These social networking services will also handle personal information for their own purposes. These services have their own privacy policies and individuals should be encouraged to read any terms and conditions (including any privacy statements or policies) that apply to any third-party service, especially the terms and conditions relating to the handling of personal information, before use.

Links

Our website may contain links to other websites and those third-party websites may collect personal information about you. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other businesses or the content of websites that are linked to our website. The Commission encourages users to be aware when they leave the site and to read the privacy statements of each website that collects personally identifiable information. 

Cookies

The Commission collects information from the site using ‘IP files’.

When you visit the Commission website to read, browse or download information, our system will record/log your IP address (the address which identifies your computer on the internet and which is automatically recognised by our web server), date and time of your visit to our site, the pages viewed, and any information downloaded. This information will only be used for the purpose of site analysis and to help us offer you improved online service. We may automatically collect non-personal information about you such as the type of internet browsers you use or the site from which you linked to our websites.

Anonymity

The Commission will typically require the individual’s name, contact information, and relevant enquiry details to assist an individual. There may be circumstances, such as general enquiries and some reporting instances, where an individual may remain anonymous or use an alias or assumed name. There are many circumstances where, for various reasons, including legislative requirements, anonymity is not possible.

De-identified information

The Commission may hold information that has had the personally identifying information removed for a specific purpose. Personal information will not be re-identified as a standard practice. Re-identification will only occur in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear and lawful basis, including where authorised or required under relevant legislation, or where informed and explicit consent has been obtained.

Access and Correction

The Commission will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete, and up to date. Individuals are encouraged to notify the Commission of any changes to their personal information to assist in maintaining data accuracy. 

Individuals, or their legally appointed guardian, have the right to request access to their personal information held by the Commission and to seek correction of any inaccuracies. 

Requests for access or correction should be made to the Commissions Privacy Officer by emailing pris@mhc.wa.gov.au. In some cases, access may be refused as permitted under law, in which case the Commission will provide the reasons for the refusal.

Storage and Security  

The Commission adopts robust security measures to protect personal information from misuse, interference and loss, as well as unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Security measures include: 

• physical controls, such as secure office premises and locked storage 
• electronic controls, including passphrase protection, encryption, and firewalls 
• access controls, to restrict information to authorised personnel only 
• staff training in information security and privacy obligations 
• regular audits and monitoring of information systems. 

The above is in line with State Government policies for Cyber Security and Information Classification. 

Personal information will only be retained for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as otherwise required or authorised by law. The Commission will destroy or permanently de-identify personal information (including sensitive personal information) which we no longer need, in line with the State Records Act 2000 (WA), unless the information is required by law, court or tribunal order, or is contained in a Commonwealth record.

Unique Identifiers

A unique identifier is an identifier (usually a number) that is used for the purpose of identifying an individual. The Commission will not assign a unique identifier unless it is necessary to perform any of its functions or activities efficiently. 

The Commission may use unique identifiers, including those created by the Commission or another organisation, for approved data analysis and data linkage purposes where this is necessary to support its functions. Such activities will only be undertaken where there is a clear lawful basis, and will, wherever practicable, be conducted using de-identified or pseudonymised information, with appropriate governance, privacy and security controls in place.

Automated Decision-making

The Commission may employ automation in certain processes. However, for decisions relating to the access or eligibility for services, human oversight will remain a key part of the decision-making process. When requested, the Commission will provide an individual with information about how the decision was made.

Privacy Breach

The Commission will take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks of a privacy breach occurring. In the event of an actual or suspected privacy breach (i.e., unauthorised access to, or unauthorised disclosure of, personal information held by the Commission), the Commission will take the necessary steps to contain the breach and remediate it in line with its Information Breach Policy. 

Where a breach involves personal information and is reasonably likely to result in serious harm, the Commission will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities, as a matter of best practice and in accordance with law.

Privacy Officer

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle personal information or wish to make an access or correction request email our Privacy Officer at pris@mhc.wa.gov.au. 

Acceptance

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