Can I withhold information to protect someone’s life, health or safety?

You can withhold personal information if disclosing it would pose a "serious threat" to someone's life, physical or mental health or safety.

If an individual has asked for their own information, the starting point is that the individual is entitled to that information(external link).

However, there are a number of refusal grounds(external link) which permit an agency to withhold personal information in certain limited circumstances.

One of the grounds which allows you to withhold information is where you believe the release of the information would be likely to pose a "serious threat(external link)" to the life, health or safety of an individual or to public health or public safety (this could be safety of the individual who requested the information, or of any other person). See section 49 of the Privacy Act(external link) for the full refusal ground. 

Updated December 2020