Your privacy and the PTO
The Public Transport Ombudsman takes its obligations to protect the privacy of your personal information seriously. “Personal information” means any information that could be used to identify you.
We collect, use, disclose and store your personal information in line with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles. You can read the Public Transport Ombudsman Privacy Policy in full here.
Why and how does the Public Transport Ombudsman (PTO) collect personal information?
We collect personal information to help with your enquiry or complaint and/or to consider your feedback. To do these things, we need to collect some or all of the following information:
- your contact details (name, address, contact number and email)
- information about your public transport complaint, and the issue(s) you want resolved
- information that helps us progress or finalise resolution of your complaint (for example, your myki card number or bank account details).
We collect personal information from you (or from your Authorised Representative) when you contact us. We also collect personal information from public transport operators or agencies (for example, your myki travel history report). Personal information may be collected from other third parties that hold information that’s relevant to your complaint.
The PTO may ask you to volunteer personal information through online surveys or phone surveys. Providing this information is optional. Collecting demographic information from our service users helps us improve the accessibility of our services and how we promote those services to the Victorian community.
What does the PTO do with the personal information it collects?
We use it to perform the following functions of the Public Transport Ombudsman’s office:
- managing enquiries, resolving complaints, and capturing feedback on public transport issues.
- identifying public transport issues that may be systemic in nature.
- improving our complaints-handing services, and how we promote them.
- creating public reports about the volume and type of complaints we receive. Data is de-identified and personal information is never disclosed in any public information that the PTO produces.
Does the PTO disclose personal information to third parties?
To resolve your complaint, the PTO needs to disclose your personal information to the public transport operator or agency that’s the subject of your complaint. If you don’t want us to share this information with the operator pr agency, it may affect our ability to resolve your complaint.
The PTO may disclose personal information to third-party service providers that help us improve our services, or in connection with our business and compliance functions. This may include engaging external providers to survey PTO service users, auditing and compliance activities, and IT systems management.
Authorising someone to speak with the PTO on your behalf
The PTO won’t discuss your complaint with another person unless you authorise it. If you would like someone else to speak with the PTO on your behalf (such as a friend, family member or support worker) let us know or get them to let us know. We will then take steps to confirm your consent for this person to act as your Authorised Representative.
We will collect personal information from your Authorised Representative to confirm they are authorised to handle your complaint and so we can contact them to discuss your complaint.
Accessing your personal information
You can request a copy of the personal information in your PTO case file by speaking with your PTO Conciliator or by contacting us.
Correcting your personal information
You can ask us to correct personal information in your PTO case file by speaking with your PTO Conciliator or by contacting us. We may decline the request. If we do, we will provide you with an explain why your request was declined.
Complaints about the PTO and your privacy
Complaints about how the PTO has handled your personal information should be directed to the PTO’s Deputy Ombudsman. You can submit your complaint to the Deputy Ombudsman by phone, email or online contact form.
The PTO is a recognised external dispute resolution scheme under the Privacy Act. The Deputy Ombudsman (or a senior staff delegate) will review whether the PTO has complied with its Privacy Policy and respond to your complaint in writing. If you are unhappy with our response you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.