Overseas disclosures

This document complements the Department of Human Services’ (department) privacy policy. It contains information about how the department handles personal information. The department may disclose personal information to governments and agencies of overseas countries in certain circumstances. These include:

  • Reciprocal Health Care Agreements
  • the Australian Government has agreements with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway
  • International Agreements and Conventions about International Maintenance Obligations (Child Support)
  • The Australian Government has bilateral agreements on the mutual recognition and recovery of child support and maintenance liabilities with New Zealand and the United States of America
  • Australia is also a contracting state to the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 and the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (UNCRAM), and has historical arrangements with a number of other jurisdictions based on the mutual laws of Australia and the other jurisdiction.

Under these arrangements Australia may do the following:

  • collect and disclose information about an individual where information is requested by an overseas authority and it is necessary or convenient to respond under the terms of a particular international maintenance arrangement
  • request information from an overseas authority in a reciprocating jurisdiction where that information is required to administer child support law
  • disclose information to an overseas authority in relation to a maintenance liability that has been established or registered by an overseas authority on behalf of a payee who resides in their jurisdiction. This information could be provided to any of the 97 reciprocating jurisdictions in which the payee resides
  • disclose information to request the overseas authority to enforce the liability where a child support assessment or other maintenance liability is registered with us and the paying parent resides in a reciprocating jurisdiction. This information could be provided to any of the 97 reciprocating jurisdictions in which the payer resides.

Reciprocating Jurisdictions

Reciprocating jurisdictions underThe Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions relating to Maintenance Obligations 1973 and the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance are as follows:

  • Algeria
  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Brazil
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Burkina Faso
  • Canada, the following Provinces and Territories:
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Cook Islands
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Ecuador
  • Estonia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Guatemala
  • Haiti
  • Holy See, The
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Liberia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Mexico
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Nauru
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Niger
  • Niue
  • Norway
  • Pakistan
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Samoa
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Tanzania (excluding Zanzibar)
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom (including Alderney, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and Sark)
  • United States of America
  • Uruguay
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

International Social Security Agreements

Australia has agreements with a number of countries to share responsibility for social security coverage, including:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Latvia
  • the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovak Republic
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • United States of America.