TRA has recently updated its Applicant Guidelines to:
· ensure that applicants and their authorised representatives protect information that is not required to complete a skills assessment. For example, Australian Tax File Numbers (TFNs) or bank account information; and
· advise applicants that this information must be deleted or not visible (covered) on documents before they are provided to TRA or TRA-approved Registered Training Organisations.
Information that is not needed for a skills assessment must not be provided to TRA
Any personal and sensitive information that is not needed for a TRA skills assessment must be removed before documents are provided to TRA as supporting information for a skills assessment. For example, bank account transactions that are not salary deposits should not be visible on any bank statements provided to TRA, because TRA has no purpose for which to use, collect, record or store this information.
TFNs must not be provided to TRA
Likewise, TFNs must not be provided to TRA in pay slips, tax notices or any other employment documentation. This is because TRA does not need TFNs to complete skills assessments and TRA is not authorised to collect, use, store, record or disclose TFNs under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015.
Further information
If you have any queries about removing sensitive information such as TFNs from TRA Skills Assessment supporting documents, please email us at traenquiries@dewr.gov.au.