New guide explains privacy and confidentiality complaints

New guide explains privacy and confidentiality complaints about banks

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme has published a new Quick Guide on privacy and confidentiality explaining how the scheme approaches privacy and confidentiality complaints.

A bank’s duty of confidence applies to all types of bank customers, including businesses and all customer information held by a bank.

On the other hand, the Privacy Act applies only to personal information held about individuals, not about business customers.

Privacy considerations also apply to information banks have on their staff. Sometimes complainants want to know what action banks have taken against their employees when we have found they breached the Privacy Act, but the bank cannot reveal this as they have an obligation to protect staff privacy.

“We consider complaints about breaches of confidence and privacy. However, we may consult with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and refer the complaint on if we conclude the complaint would be better dealt with by that office,” Ms Battell said.

The Quick Guide explains the circumstances in which:

• a bank is compelled by law to disclose information

• a bank has a public duty to disclose information or has to disclose to protect its interests

• a bank is required to act if a customer agrees to information disclosure

It also explains how we approach complaints about a bank sharing information it shouldn’t have.

The new guide updates one which dealt solely with a bank’s duty of confidence.

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