Register of publicly-available information
Under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998(PIPPA), a public register is a register of personal information that is required by law to be, or is made, publicly available or open to public inspection (whether or not on payment of a fee).
The Lord Howe Island Board (LHIB) is required to maintain several registers under legislation:
Lord Howe Island Regulation 2014
Part 3 Division 4 Clause 45 — Register of Leases
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Part 4 Division 9 Section 100 — Register of consents and certificates
Other registers maintained by the LHIB include:
- Register of Business Licences
- Register of Liquor Licences
- Register of Delegations
- Register of current declarations of disclosures of political donations
Policy relating to public registers
The LHIB's policy in relation to public registers is as follows:
Any person may:
- inspect a publicly available copy of a public register on LHIB premises, and
- copy a single entry from the register
without providing a reason for accessing the register.
A person shall not copy more than a single entry of a public register unless the information is required by a government agency for statistical or other purposes consistent with the legitimate functions of that agency.
LHIB staff and Board members may verbally provide details to a member of the public regarding a single entry in a public register provided that a file note is made detailing the person to whom the information was provided, the nature of the information provided, the date and any other relevant details.
A person about whom personal information is contained (or proposed to be contained) in a public register, may request the LHIB under section 58 of the PPIPA to have the information removed from, or not placed on the register.
Suppression of information
If the Chief Executive Officer is satisfied that the safety or well-being of any person would be affected by not suppressing the personal information as requested, the LHIB will suppress the information in accordance with the request unless the CEO is of the opinion that the public interest in maintaining public access to the information outweighs any individual interest in suppressing the information, in accordance with section 58(2) of the PPIPA.