2021 Census of Population and Housing Australian Privacy Principle 5 Employment Collection Notice

This Collection Notice explains the collection of personal information for employees on short-term employment contracts including office-based and field staff. 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects personal information for different purposes. The ABS Recruitment Privacy Statement, ABS Privacy Policies and 2021 Census Privacy Statement provide more details about how personal information is protected. These are available on the ABS website at www.abs.gov.au/privacy. 

The Adecco ABS Census Recruitment Privacy Policy also details how Adecco, the company recruiting short-term employees for the ABS will protect the privacy of applicants for 2021 Census employment vacancies.

Your personal information is being collected by the ABS and the companies it has contracted for managing Census recruitment, employment and other related activities. 

The ABS collects personal information when you apply for a temporary Census role. 

ABS has engaged Adecco to manage recruitment for the 2021 Census. Personal information will be collected when you submit an application and complete other recruitment requirements. See the Adecco ABS Census Recruitment Privacy Policy for more details. 

We collect and hold different kinds of personal information, including: 

• general contact and identification details (e.g. name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth)
• bank account, tax file number and superannuation details
• contact details of your family or other contacts you provide in case we need to contact them in an emergency situation
• information about your education and work history, qualifications and skills, and eligibility to work in Australia
• sensitive information, such as information about your medical history or specific condition, criminal record and racial or ethnic origin, which will only be collected with your consent
• health information where there is an accident or incident in the workplace.

We also use CCTV video recording in ABS buildings.

We collect personal information to assess your suitability and manage your employment as a Census Field Officer or in an office-based role. We use personal information for the following activities: 

Recruitment:

we collect a range of personal information to verify your identity, employment history and verify your ability and eligibility to work on the Census. 

Payment and reimbursement: 

we use financial details such as bank account and tax file numbers to pay allowances, salaries and other payments. ABS has contracted EPI-USE to coordinate payments. See their privacy policy online. 

Workload allocation, support and monitoring: 

we use your name, phone number, email and address to help allocate, support and monitor your field work duties and progress in the field. 

Check in/check out: 

we use your phone number and address details when you check in and check out in the field at nominated times. Emergency contact details are only used if we don’t hear from you. 

Information we collect to run the 2021 Census will be deleted according to the National Archives of Australia Records Authority 2020/00002493. 

Companies contracted by the ABS to assist in recruitment of staff will destroy or return all personal information once the Census collection phase is complete. 

If we did not collect your personal information we would not be able to employ you, pay you, manage workloads in the field or meet our Work Health and Safety responsibilities. 

We will share relevant personal information with any contracted companies responsible for employment-related activities, including payment of salary, superannuation and compensation, rehabilitation activities if you are injured, and relevant government health departments if required for COVID-19 notifications and contact tracing. 

We will let you know who we are sharing your information with. 

We collect personal information for processes that help us run the Census under authority of the ABS Act 1975, the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. 

The ABS will not disclose your personal information overseas. When personal information used to help run the Census is stored in the cloud, it is kept in Australia. 

You will be able to update your personal information and other employment-related details through self-service options provided to you as an ABS employee. 

The ABS Privacy Policies have information about how you can complain if you feel we have not adequately protected your privacy. The policies describe how we will respond to your complaint, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our response. 

You can contact the ABS Privacy Officer (details below) who will respond to your enquiries or assist with complaints. 

By email: privacy@abs.gov.au
By post: ABS Privacy Officer, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Locked Bag 10, Belconnen ACT 2617