The University of Technology Sydney (also ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’ or ‘UTS’) respects the privacy of individuals involved in a disclosure or report of gender-based violence, including the privacy of those making a disclosure or report, and the privacy of witnesses and respondents. UTS complies with the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1988 (‘PPIP Act’), the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (‘HRIP Act’) and the State Records Act 1998 (‘SRA Act’). This notice details how information relating to a disclosure or report will be handled.

Note: If you are making a disclosure or report on behalf of someone else, you must first obtain their consent before sharing information that includes their identity. If you don’t have their consent, then a disclosure or report may be made anonymously.

Collecting your information 

Information we collect when you make a disclosure or report may include:

  • Details of the incident, such as what occurred, when and where.
  • Demographic information, which helps ensure appropriate support and reporting.
  • Police event numbers, if the incident has been reported externally.
  • Other information relevant to the nature and substance of the incident being considered.

You control how much detail you choose to provide, however, by providing as much detail as possible you can help us to:

  • better understand the incident
  • any risks to you or others, and
  • respond to your concerns, including by providing you and others support.

When considering your disclosure or report, we may also collect your information from others, for example, information may be collected from other complainants, respondents as well as witnesses. Information may also be sourced from UTS information systems where relevant to the incident in question.

If we collect your personal and health information, we will use it as set out under the heading “How information will be used” and as permitted by law.

Where the details of a disclosure or report are made anonymously to us, we may also be limited in the support we can offer or the actions we are able to take.

How information will be used

Information may be used for the following purposes:

  • providing advice and support, and to communicate with relevant individuals
  • managing and responding to the complaint, including investigation where appropriate
  • acting on the information, which may include risk mitigations, adjustments or disciplinary measures as appropriate
  • quality improvement and planning to enhance UTS’s prevention and response processes (information will be anonymised or de-identified in line with the policy and procedure), and/or 
  • developing anonymised reports for internal and external reporting requirements.

Information will only be used for the primary purpose for which it was collected or for a directly related secondary purpose, or as otherwise required or permitted by law.

Who receives your information

All reports and disclosures related to gender-based violence are primarily managed by the Safe and Respectful Communities (‘SaRC’) team. In some cases, your information may be shared with other relevant UTS areas where necessary to provide support or meet legal and safety obligations.

Any information you share with us will not, however, be shared outside of UTS unless the circumstances are such that a disclosure of that information is warranted in accordance with this Notice. For example, in some cases, UTS may need to share relevant information with internal or external legal advisors or external authorities such as the police, particularly where there are safety concerns, minors involved, legal obligations, or investigative requirements (refer to the Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Policy and the Gender-based Violence Response Procedure).

Incidents involving other entities

Where required, we may share your information (including the findings from any investigation) with other entities affiliated with UTS (for example, ActivateUTS or UTS College). Information will only be shared with those who have a legitimate need to know that information in order to appropriately respond. This may occur when:

  • the disclosure or report directly involves that entity (including staff, members or students)
  • the entity is required to act in response to the disclosure or report or assist UTS to support and respond, and/or
  • sharing is necessary to meet: our duty of care, workplace health and safety obligations to the UTS community, or other legal or regulatory obligations.

When information may be shared outside UTS

Information may be disclosed/shared outside UTS where:

  • a minor is involved and sharing that information would be in the minor’s best interest
  • police or other law enforcement bodies request it
  • we engage with external investigators or require legal support
  • necessary to prevent or lessen serious harm to any member of the UTS community
  • you have provided consent for the disclosure, and/or
  • otherwise required or permitted by law.

How your information is stored and retained 

Information relating to a disclosure or report will be held securely within an approved UTS system and will be retained in accordance with our retention obligations under the SRA Act. Information will be securely destroyed once retention requirements have been met.

UTS takes reasonable steps to protect personal and health information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including through secure systems and restricted access controls.

Access and correction

You have the right to request access to and correction of your personal information under the PPIP and HRIP Act.

Requests can be made by contacting your assigned Safety Caseworker or the SaRC team via email safety.caseworker@uts.edu.au or phone (02) 9514 1177. UTS will respond within the timeframes required by law and provide reasons if access or correction is refused.

Additional information

Refer to the following additional resources:

 

Note: This notice may be updated at any time. Check this notice periodically to ensure you are aware of our current practices.

Date last updated: 18 December 2025