Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

In the NT many relevant records are held by Australian Archives. Many of theserecords contain personal information about a number of people. For example, a singlerecord may contain personal information about several generations of one family or itmay contain information about a group of unrelated children who happened to have beendealt with together at some time. ‘The challenge for the Archives has been how toaddress the needs of indigenous people separated from their families yet safeguard theprivacy of individuals’ (Australian Archives submission 602 page 5). A ‘memorandum ofunderstanding’ developed by Australian Archives in consultation with Indigenous useragencies resolves many of the third party privacy concerns by requiring the searcher tosign an undertaking not to reveal sensitive information about other people to anyone else.This solution permits the searcher or an agent such as an Indigenous tracing agency toperuse all records of relevance to himself or herself in their context, even when thatcontext includes information personal to others. A similar approach was adoptedfollowing a similar process of consultation in the ‘common access guidelines’ developedin NSW.Some agencies will seek out a third party’s consent to the release of information toan applicant. The Department of Community Services and Health in Victoria, theAboriginal Affairs Department and the Family and Children’s Services Department inWA and the Queensland Community and Personal Histories Service will do this. Othersleave that up to the searcher, for example NSW Archives and the Queensland Departmentof Aboriginal and Islander Affairs. The latter approach can place some searchers in acatch-22 situation. Without knowing the identity of a parent, the parent cannot becontacted for consent. Yet without consent, the searcher cannot find out the parent’sidentity. This absurd situation arises where the record agency takes a very strict approachand does not assist by contacting family members to obtain their consent.In the case of adoption information most States permit either party to register a vetoon the release of identifying information. In NSW however neither party can requireidentifying information to be withheld.Unrelated third partiesRespect for third party privacy currently seems to require that all informationrelating to non-immediate family will be withheld, for example the identity of fosterparents or the welfare department’s assessments of the quality of care being provided.The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre submitted that this information belongs as much to thechild as to the carers and should be released.We have raised with the Department the need to make available information which may beadverse to the interests of foster parents (where for example there is information indicatingphysical, emotional or sexual abuse). To date the Department has indicated that it will notprovide such information without the consent of the third party affected. It is our belief that anyinformation, opinion or fact should be released (second submission 325 page 2).This information may be critical to the success of a civil damages claim brought by