MyService Privacy Collection Notice

How we manage your personal information when you use MyService.

Introduction

MyService is an online service run by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). It has been developed for veterans, families and their representatives to quickly and securely do a range of business online with DVA. To establish a MyService account you need to have a myGov account. 

You can use MyService to:

• submit claims and view their progress
• upload information to support your claim
• apply for DVA-funded mental health treatment and other benefits
• view your Veteran Card online and see your accepted conditions
• book transport and claim transport costs
• download official letters for tax or concession purposes
• update your personal details.

Purpose of collection

We collect your personal information for the purposes of performing our functions under legislation administered by DVA, including the delivery of payments, services and treatments. We also collect your personal information to enable us to administer MyService  as set out in the MyService terms of use and DVA Privacy Policy.  For example, we may collect your personal information to:

• communicate with you, including by SMS or email
• confirm your identification
• provide advice to you about available support and services
• ensure correct payments are made in relation to claims
• verify data with third parties in relation to claims
• investigate fraud and the assessment of payment eligibility
• manage complaints and feedback
• participate in merits and judicial review matters
• manage and respond to requests for information
• administer and provide online services including MyService
• ensure your DVA Veteran Card is up to date and current on MyService and, where you have elected to use it, in the myGov app digital wallet
• facilitate continuous improvement and development of new services and programs, including improvements to MyService and our websites.

How we use or disclose information

DVA generally uses and discloses personal information only for the primary purpose for which it is collected. In certain circumstances, we may use personal information for another purpose but only where this would be authorised by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This may include where you have consented to this secondary purpose or where the secondary purpose is required or authorised by law. Some examples of where we might use personal information include where:

• we have been compelled by a Court or Tribunal to produce certain information
• we have collected information for use in a particular program and we use the information to make service improvements to that program
• we share information with and collect data from the Department of Defence to confirm your service details for authenticating your registration for MyService, creating your MyService profile and determining eligibility for benefits
• we share information with the Attorney General’s Department through its Identity Verification Services (IVS) to establish your proof of identity (The IVS is an automated service that checks whether the biographic information on your identity document matches the original record. The result will simply be ‘yes’ or ‘no’.)
• we share information with and collect information from medical and health professionals, hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, the Department of Defence, other Commonwealth Departments or Agencies, or other organisations in relation to your health records to enable decisions to be made in relation to claims, reviews and appeals
• we share information with Services Australia as DVA’s  information technology and shared services provider. Services Australia is responsible for maintaining the systems and databases where your data is stored and for providing access to MyService through myGov. We do this specifically with DVA Veteran Card information where you have elected to use the myGov app digital wallet.

This includes ensuring the integrity of your data is preserved and appropriately protected.  

Collection and use of data for analytical purposes

We use the Adobe Experience Platform (Adobe) to collect data about your interactions with MyService. When you access MyService, a unique and persistent identifier will be generated and linked to your MyService account. This identifier will be used to capture data about your device and browser (such as device type and browser version), location (country and state) and your interactions across the MyService platform (such as pages visited, how you interact with MyService pages, and how you reach MyService pages that you visit) every time you sign in. We will also use existing information held by DVA, including your account profile and dashboard information, and link this information with data about your interactions with MyService. 

We analyse this data to better understand how MyService is used, and to continuously improve MyService, DVA programs and services delivered. While the unique identifier is capable of linking the collected data to a user, we will not use the data to identify you as an individual, and we have set up Adobe to operate on MyService without collecting information that directly identifies you (such as your name or date of birth). 

Adobe is provided by Adobe Systems Pty Ltd and supplied for DVA's use by Services Australia as DVA's IT service provider.  The data that we collect will be accessible to Adobe and Services Australia for the purposes of the delivery and management of Adobe for MyService.

What information you are required to provide to us

Creating a MyService account and providing your personal information for that purpose is voluntary. You are not required by law to provide this information to us. However, if you choose not to provide us with the information we need to create your MyService account, you will not be able to create a MyService account or access some services via MyService.

What we collect so you can use MyService

To register for and use MyService you will need to supply:

• your name, date of birth and email address and, if applicable, your service information (including your PMKeyS number, service number and original hire date). This information may be shared with the Department of Defence for the purposes of authenticating your registration for MyService 
• additional forms of identification, for example driver’s licence, Medicare card, passport or birth certificate, to establish Proof of Identity (POI). This information may be shared with the Attorney General’s Department, through its Identity Verification Services (IVS), to electronically confirm your POI
• other personal information to lodge a claim through MyService, such as your health information (about an injury or condition) or your income and assets (for means testing purposes). In some cases, services or claims made through MyService are subject to their own collection notices and consents.

Authority to collect and use personal information

The authority for DVA to collect personal information relevant to your claim is contained in the provisions of the legislation we administer, including:

• Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth)
• Defence Service Homes Act 1918 (Cth)
• Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth)
• Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth)
• War Graves Act 1980 (Cth)

A full listing of the legislation we administer is set out in the Administrative Arrangements Orders.

Protecting your information

We take reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure, or other misuse.

Your personal information is stored securely by DVA through Services Australia following best practice security recommendations. Your MyService account information can only be accessed by authorised officers of DVA and Services Australia. All access to MyService is logged and officers are trained on a regular basis about their privacy and security obligations.

Any officer who accesses MyService account information without authority can be subject to Code of Conduct proceedings under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth), and if a criminal offence has been committed, that officer may be prosecuted and penalised.

The Department of Defence and Services Australia are responsible for the security of your information while it is collected by, stored on or passing through systems within their control such as myGov. You have a responsibility to assist with keeping your own records secure as set out in the terms of use.

Physical measures, such as building and equipment security, are used in conjunction with digital technology, such as data encryption and firewalls, to minimise unauthorised access to information.

We ensure that personal information is not kept longer than necessary, and disposed of appropriately, in accordance with the law.

We retain a record of transactions performed using your MyService account for audit and other purposes including continuous improvement and evaluation to improve DVA programs and services. This includes to identify and investigate suspicious or inappropriate use of a MyService account.

Access to and correction of your information

You can view a summary of the status of your claims and tasks in MyService. To access, review or correct your personal information:

• sign in to your MyService account and review and correct your information contained in your profile
• if you are unable to correct your information or are concerned about any information displayed in MyService, contact us through the Help facility or the Feedback link in MyService. 
• if you are unable to sign in via myGov to your MyService account, contact the myGov helpdesk for assistance.

Related information

For more information about MyService go to MyService, MyService terms of use and DVA Privacy Policy.

For more information on how myGov collects and uses your personal information go to myGov terms of use, myGov Privacy Notice and myGov Privacy and Security.