WORKPLACE POLICIES,

LEGISLATION, AND CODES OF PRACTICE

Legislation

What we are covering today are only a limited number of laws and policies in the workplace relating to:OHSPrivacyInformation TechnologyEqual OpportunitySPAMCopyright

Introduction

Legislation exists to ensure people and organisations follow appropriate rules of society

Legislation is law enacted by parliament Australia is governed by:

Federal lawState lawLocal law

Policies

Policies are statements made by organisations as to how they will comply with legislation

They are a broad statements of intentions

Procedures are how those policies are implemented

Occupational Health & Safety

OHS Legislation

Workplace safety is governed byOccupational Safety and Health Act 1984Occupational Safety and Health Regulations

1996, andCodes of Practice

In Western Australia it is managed by WorkSafe which is part of the Department of Commercehttp://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/worksafe/in

dex.htmhttp://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/index.html

OHS Legislation OHS is covered in

more detail in your other class

It is important to reiterate OHS is a dual responsibility between employers and employees

Employers Responsibility Provide a safe workplace

free from injury and discrimination

Provide training and support to ensure a safe workplace

Employees Responsibility Not to engage in activities

that are likely to endanger yourself or others

Follow safety instructions and procedures

Privacy

The Privacy Act 1988 The Privacy Act 1988 is a Federal Act The Privacy Act relates to protection of an

individual’s personal information held by business and government (known as entities)

The Act includes 13 Australian Privacy PrinciplesAPPs set out standards, rights and obligations for

the management of personal information APP came into force in March 2014 and

replaced the National Privacy Principles

The Privacy Act 1988 The Privacy Act allows you to:

Know why your personal information is being collected, how it will be used and who it will be disclosed to

Have the option of not identifying yourself, or of using a pseudonym in certain circumstances

Ask for access to your personal information (including your health information)

Stop receiving unwanted direct marketing

Ask for your personal information that is incorrect to be corrected

Make a complaint about an entity covered by the privacy act, if you consider that they have mishandled your personal information.

Australian Privacy Principles:The Categories

1. Consideration of personal information privacy

2. Collection of personal information

3. Dealing with personal information

4. Integrity of personal information

5. Access to, and correction of, personal information

APP Part 1: Consideration of personal information privacy1. Open and transparent management of personal information

2. Anonymity and pseudonymity

The objective of this principle is to ensure an organisation is open and transparent about the way it manages your information.

It must have an up to date Privacy Policy that includes information on

What information is collected How it collects it What it does with your information How you can access your

information Who it might disclose your

information to

Individuals have the right not to identify themselves when dealing with an APP entity.

Individuals can use a pseudonym in place of their actual identity.

APP Part 2: Collection of personal information3. Collection of solicited personal information

4. Dealing with unsolicited personal information

An entity must not collect personal information unless it is directly related to or required for the entity’s functions or activities

Sensitive information must not be collected without the individual’s consent

If an entity receives personal information they should determine if it could’ve been legally obtained under APP3 If Yes – they can store and use that

information If No – they must destroy it or di-identify

it

5. Notification of the collection of personal information At the time or before collection of information an entity must notify the

individual What information is required to be collected The reason for collection If someone else has provided the information they need to inform the individual what

information was collected and by whom

APP Part 3: Dealing with personal information6. Use or disclosure of personal information

7. Direct marketing

If an entity holds information about an individual they must only use that information for the purpose that is was collected for

Exceptions - the information can be used for a secondary purpose under certain conditions If it is directly related to the

primary purpose for collection Legal obligations

If an entity holds personal information about an individual it must not be used for the purpose of direct marketing

Exceptions The organisation collected that

information from the individual The individual would

reasonably expect it to be used for that purpose

Contractual arrangements

APP Part 3: Dealing with personal information8. Cross-border disclosure of personal information

9. Adoption, use or disclosure of government related identifiers

Before an entity can disclose personal information to an individual or entity outside of the Australian Legal Jurisdiction they must ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach any part of the APP

An organisation must not adopt or use an individual’s personal identifier as its own Centrelink Identifiers Student Numbers Medicare Numbers

Exception – Where it is required by law Verification of identification

APP Part 4: Integrity of personal information10. Quality of personal information

11. Security of personal information

An entity must take reasonable steps to ensure that information collected from individuals is accurate, up-to-date, and complete.

An entity must take reasonable steps to ensure that information is protected from Misuse or interference Unauthorised access or

disclosure

APP Part 5: Access to, and correction of, personal information12. Access to personal information

13. Correction of personal information

If an entity holds personal information about an individual they must, when requested by that individual, provide access to the information

Exceptions Legal grounds Threats to life, health or public safety

Organisations must respond to requests within 30 days

Charges for provision of information can only by made by organisations and must not be excessive

An organisation must take reasonable steps to correct personal information when notified by the individual

Privacy Policies

The following websites have had their Privacy Policies updated to meet the new Australian Privacy Principles:Australia Post

○ http://auspost.com.au/privacy.htmlHays Recruitment

○ http://www.hays.com.au/general-content/privacy-policy-2365

Cancer Council○ http://www.cancer.org.au/privacy-policy.html

SPAM & SCAMS

SPAM Legislation SPAM Act (2003) provides legislation to

monitor and restrict unsolicited communications

This covers email, SMS, MMS, and iM The Act provides for 3 distinct requirements

1. Consent

2. Identify, and

3. Unsubscribe http://www.acma.gov.au/web/STANDARD//

pc%3DPC_2008

SPAM: Penalties & Enforcement

ACMA has the responsibility for governing and enforcing penalties Infringement notices by the ACA Penalties imposed by courts under the legislation

Infringement notice penalties for sending spam are $440 per contravention for an individual (with a maximum

of $22,000 for all contraventions that occur on a single day) $2,200 per contravention for a body corporate (with a

maximum of $110,000 for all contraventions that occur on a single day).

Other rules apply, such as Not including an ‘Opt Out’ facility Not identifying yourself/organisation clearly

http://www.caslon.com.au/anzspamprofile2.htm

Scams Lottery SMS scam

Congratulations, you have just won $1M – all you have to do is transfer $1,000 into an account to access your winnings!!!

Mule spam Have I got a job for you??

Phishing spam We are your bank, but we don’t know your account details so

send them to us now! Nigerian scams

Send us all your money and we’ll give you a heap of money in return …

Scam Watch http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/

Buying Online: Consumer Protection Who’s laws apply?

In Australia we are protected by Australian Law and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

Australian Consumer Law makes it illegal for businesses to mislead consumers, either in the purchase price or claims in advertising

Is the seller/company legitimate? Do they have a physical address? Are they reputable? Do you know people who have purchased from them before?

Terms and conditions Are these readily available before you make your purchase Click to accept conditions must be made available and accepted

before the transaction is made for them to be legally binding Payment methods

Are they using secure encryption (https)? http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/8135

IT Policies

Information Technology Policies

Use of Information Technology presents some very challenging issuesPersonal use V Business use

Specifically we are going to look at:EmailInternet useComputer use

Policies should always be made available when you commence employment

May also be provided when you log on to a computer

IT Policies: Email

In the workplace your use of email can be monitored by your employer

Organisations will have differing policies on the use of email for personal use

Email should always be considered insecure

Guidelines on Workplace Email:http://www.privacy.gov.au/materials/types/gu

idelines/view/6056

IT Policies: EmailShould Not: Must Not:

Spend excessive time on personal emails

Use inappropriate language

Use significant system resources

And more …

Breach copyright Be offensive, violent, or

indecent Contain sexually explicit

material Incite criminal activities And more …

IT Policies: Internet Use

As with email policies, Internet usage is often monitored in the workplace

May have policies on social media use Must not engage in illegal activities or

visit prohibited websites

IT Policies: Computer Engage in illegal

activities Share logon and

passwords Use passwords that

are secure Copy and distribute

copyright information Industrial espionage

Sabotaging computers Viruses and malware

Equal Opportunity

Equal Opportunity

Age Breastfeeding Family Responsibility Family Status Gender History Impairment Marital Status Political Preferences

Pregnancy Race Racial Harassment Religion Gender Sexual Harassment Sexual Orientation Spent Conviction

Equal Opportunity Act 1984 sets out the grounds for discrimination as:

EO in the workplace

Employers have an obligation to ensure all staff are treated fairly

Jobs are awarded based on merit Staff (Managers and workers) are aware

of their obligations Staff respect the rights of others May have policies on workplace bullying

Equal Opportunity

Equal Opportunity Commission of WAhttp://www.eoc.wa.gov.au/YourRights/EOFor

You.aspx National Anti-Discrimination Information

Gatewayhttp://www.antidiscrimination.gov.au/

Australian Human Rights Commissionhttp://www.hreoc.gov.au/

Copyright

Copyright

Copyright is law that protects the rights of a creator of an original work

Copyright coversWritten worksImages / photographsArtworksAudio (music etc)SoftwareArchitectureChoreography

Copyright Copyright is an implied law – you don’t need

to do anything to be covered by it Copyright gives the owner of the works

exclusive rights to itTo use copyrighted works you need to obtain the

owners permissionCopyright lasts until 70 years after the death of

the owner Fair dealing

Allows for limited use of copyrighted works under certain conditions

1 chapter or 9.99% for education purpose

Do I need to register for Copyright? There is NO registration system for copyright

in Australia

Copyright protection is free and applies

automatically when material is created

There is no formal process that must be

followed

Material is automatically protected by

copyright in Australia, under the Copyright

Act 1968

Acknowledging others’ work We must correctly acknowledge the

work done by others Source code and digital content are

protected under copyright law, and giving credit where credit is due is an important part of teamwork

When you use someone else’s work, or if they worked with you on a project, we must acknowledge their efforts

Copyright Links

Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

Australian Copyright Councilhttp://www.copyright.org.au/

Online Infringement: Forum Discussion Online Piracy is it really a

victimless crime? Last year when the fourth

season of Game of Thrones was launched Australian's proved themselves to be one of the biggest offenders worldwide for infringing copyright.

Some people used the excuse that because it was only available on Foxtel and they could afford the subscription payments that it was ok to download it.

If creative arts developers lose money through illegal downloads will they still be able produce their art for consumers?

The Australian Government has launched a discussion paper seeking feedback on changes to the existing legislation to deter online copyright infringement.

The proposals relate to three things:1. the actions an internet service provider (ISP)

must take if its customers are infringing copyright (authorisation liability)

2. enabling content creators to get a court order requiring ISPs to block access to foreign websites that specialise in infringing content (site blocking)

3. extending the current ‘safe harbour’ provisions (which are intended to provide incentives to carriage service providers to curb infringements) to other online service providers such as Google, eBay and universities (safe harbour scheme)

The government wants to content creators and ISPs to work together to establish industry schemes or commercial arrangements that encourage legitimate use and sharing of content, and deter infringing uses. These proposals are intended to support that aim.

http://www.copyright.com.au/about-copyright/policy-and-research/online-infringement