The Local Government Online Services (LOGONS) project is helping Tasmania’s 29 Councils bring online services to residents and ratepayers. The Local Government Association of Tasmania project is also helping Councils in other States to develop privacy guidelines for the collection and storage of online information.
Project Manager, Andrew Koerbin, said a sample privacy policy written for the LOGONS project had been adopted by several Councils in the Northern Territory and New South Wales.
“It was written in a way that can be applied to any Council in Australia,” Andrew Koerbin said.
LOGONS has produced a web site checklist so Councils can assess whether they adhere to existing and impending privacy legislation.
Andrew Koerbin said all Councils should ensure compliance with privacy legislation by taking the following steps:
- review or develop policies relating to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in all formats
- ensure that online and offline privacy policies are consistent
- ensure that procedures are in place to protect data
- identify any indirect disclosure of personal information, for example, issuing certificates for conveyancing may indirectly disclose information about the financial status of an owner.
LOGONS is a four year project funded by the Commonwealth Networking the Nation program. It started in October 2000 because there was no privacy legislation covering Local Government in Tasmania. Draft legislation – based on Victorian, NSW and Commonwealth privacy laws – is still before the Tasmanian Parliament.
LOGONS also addresses online authentication, where Councils’ constituents are required to sign forms or provide proof of identity in order to access a service.
“Increasingly, interactions between citizens and public services are taking place online, where it is harder to authenticate identity,” Andrew Koerbin said. “As neither party can see the other, traditional methods do not work.”
He said there were three ways to authenticate the identity of online users:
- knowledge – the user presents something they know, such as a password.
- possession – the user presents something they possess, such as a token.
- being – the user presents a personal physical attribute, such as a fingerprint.
“For some online services, such as dog registration, Councils need to determine if users require authentication,” he said. “For other services, such as access to rates balances, the identity of the constituent must be verified.”
LOGONS has developed a set of principles to determine appropriate levels of authentication. “Some people may wish to identify themselves and complete transactions online while others may wish to access information and services anonymously,” Andrew Koerbin said. “Where possible, authentication mechanisms chosen for online services should not impose a burden on Councils in changing systems and processes.”
The LOGONS project received a commendation in the Management Improvement category of the Local Government awards.
For further information contact Andrew Koerbin, email andrew.koerbin@lgat.tas.gov.au or telephone (03) 6233 5966.
