1.0 Information Sharing Policy - Northern Territory Council of Social ...

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• Affect the provisions of the Act which allow an Authorised Officer or the Children’s Commissioner to seek information as part of an Inquiry or Investigation into a situation where a report or complaint has been received that raises concerns for a child’s safety or wellbeing; or • Require a person or an organisation to take any step which is not in accordance with the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 (NT). Under this new framework, [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers need to confirm before sharing information that they are sharing information only with other Authorised Information Sharers. A list of accepted authorised information sharers is provided in Attachment 2 of this policy document. Policy Principles: • [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers should provide and receive information to assist their organisation in working in child safety and wellbeing related tasks; • Personal information should be managed with sensitivity and discretion, recognising that the wellbeing of a child includes respect for their personal integrity and dignity, and that of their family, and involves, particularly for older children, having control over their personal information wherever possible; • [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers are to work collaboratively to ensure child safety and wellbeing and to respond to legitimate information sharing requests in a timely fashion; • Rules and standards to protect confidentiality and privacy of individuals should not obstruct the sharing of information for the safety and wellbeing of children; • [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers need to consider what factors should be taken into account in the formation of a “reasonable belief” for the purposes of the information sharing framework; and • [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers should identify when consideration needs to be given to obtaining consent from the relevant parties before sharing information under the information sharing framework. Authorised Information Sharers are not legally required to obtain consent to share information under the information sharing framework. • Team Leaders or CEOs should review the implementation of the policy and procedures in team meetings or individual supervision session to ensure information is shared appropriately and in line with the information sharing guidelines and the legislation and its intent. Procedures and Practices: There are five main procedures that make up the information sharing framework and should be followed by [Insert ORGANISATION NAME] Authorised Information Sharers. These are: 1. Information Sharing As an Authorised Information Sharer you may decide to share information with another Authorised Information Sharer at your own instigation, i.e. when no request has been made, as long as you:
• Specify the child or children to whom the information relates when sharing the information. • Have a reasonable belief that the information would help the recipient take a specified action in relation to the child or children. Such as conduct an investigation, make a decision or provide a service to enable informed case management practices. In this circumstance, as an Authorised Information Sharer, you should: • Determine and use the most appropriate method of communication on a case by case basis – information can be shared verbally, by email or in writing. • Ensure all exchanges of information, made under the information Sharing Framework, are recorded in the Client File – in accordance with the Record Keeping and Documentation procedure described below (refer procedure 5). 2. How to request information As an Authorised Information Sharer, you should: • Determine the information you wish to collect and clearly identify the child or group of children about whom you wish to collect the information. • Review the Client File to check you are not asking partner agencies to prepare and provide duplicate information. • Determine which person you wish to request the information from. • Determine if the person is an Information Sharing Authority. • Identify the reasons why you need the information (i.e. assessment, case planning, service provision, or to initiate or conduct an investigation). • Check whether the person or organisation providing the information has obtained consent from the relevant parties before sharing information. Best practice is to seek consent before information is exchanged, provided that doing so will not impact negatively upon the child’s safety or wellbeing or an investigation in relation to a child. • Ensure seeking consent does not jeopardise the safety or wellbeing of any other person including a person in your workplace or employee of another organisation. • Indicate the time period for the information being sought (e.g. for the last six months, last three years). • Provide a realistic timeframe to the Authorised Information Sharer for the requested information. Communicating/negotiating a due date is best practice as it promotes collaboration and can ensure urgent matters are prioritised. • Determine and use the most appropriate method of communication on a case by case basis – information can be shared verbally, by email or in writing. • Ensure all exchanges of information, made under the Information Sharing Framework, are recorded in the Client File – in accordance with the Record Keeping and Documentation procedure described below (refer procedure 5). 3. How to provide information As an Authorised Information Sharer, you should: • If receiving a request for information, determine if the person or organisation requesting the information is an information sharing authority. If this person is unknown to you, you can ask them to put their request into an email, which will confirm the organisation they are working for. If you are still not clear, then you can contact the agency by phone and ask for verification of employment and confirmation of the organisation that this person is an information sharing authority.
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1.0 Information Sharing Policy - Northern Territory Council of Social ...

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