The electronic publishing of health indicators and health data are associated with requirements to ensure compliance with privacy laws and NSW Health privacy policies. Privacy is of the utmost importance and NSW Health is required to ensure the protection of the privacy of individuals and/or communities whose health information may be reported on HealthStats NSW. Publication of health statistics is also associated with professional responsibilities for epidemiologists and biostatisticians to communicate the inferential limitations of that data, which can be particularly constrained when small numbers are reported.
This report presents an overview of the privacy laws and policies relevant to HealthStats NSW.