Personal information collected on returns or in any other form supplied by you to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the Department) for the purposes of lodging a return with the Department will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and any relevant guidelines.
Personal information
‘Personal information' means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
The collection of mandatory information by the Department in relation to a return form submitted through Levies Online is authorised by the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 and the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Regulations 1991 for the purpose of administering levies or charges.
If you do not provide the relevant information requested in your return form, you may be in breach of the legislation and the Department may be required to take action. The Department will also be unable to administer the levy or charge if the relevant information is not provided. The personal information collected may include information in relation to your business, including your ABN, ACN, business name, contact person details, email address, physical address, and phone number and information about the people you dealt with in a return period.
Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence.
Disclosure, use and storage of information
The Department may disclose and/or use your personal information and those of the people you dealt with in a return period to eligible recipients, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in accordance with the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 or for fit and proper person assessments under the Export Control Act 2020.
The Department may also use your personal information to contact you to provide information relating to levies, such as when there are changes to levy rates or to administrative arrangements for payment of levies.
Your personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. See our Privacy policy webpage to learn more about accessing or correcting personal information or making a compliant. Alternatively, you can email the department at privacy@aff.gov.au.