Department ATD Privacy Notice
The Department of Home Affairs (Department), and our contracted service providers, are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in Schedule 1 to the
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act). The APPs regulate how the Department collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information, and how you may seek access to, or correction of, the personal information that we hold about you.
This notice explains why the Department collects your personal information when you submit an Australia Travel Declaration (ATD), and how we manage that information. Further information about the Department’s general personal information handling practices is available in the
Department’s Privacy Policy.
Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) is collaborating with the Department to provide the ATD system in the Qantas App. When you submit an ATD via the Qantas App, Qantas collects your personal information and sends it to the Department. Your personal information submitted in the ATD will be stored in your Qantas App on your personal device and not in any Qantas systems. It will remain visible in the Qantas App for a short period, usually for 24 hours after your scheduled arrival in Australia. It will be deleted from your personal device when the Qantas App is next opened on your personal device after that 24 hour period.
The ATD offers a digital alternative to the paper Incoming Passenger Card, and allows you to provide information relating to immigration, customs, health, biosecurity and currency matters via the Qantas App on your personal device up to 72 hours before you board your flight to Australia.
Personal information we collect
Personal information that the Department collects via the ATD includes:
- your name, date of birth and usual occupation
- your intended address in Australia
- your email address and passport details
- contact details in Australia and emergency contact details
- flight number, and country in which you boarded the flight
- migration status
- details about your travel to and stay in Australia, and
- declarations in relation to immigration, customs, health, biosecurity and currency matters.
Why we collect your personal information
The Department collects your personal information to manage your entry into Australia. This includes to:
- verify your identity
- fulfill the Department’s immigration, customs and border security functions
- collect information for other Australian Government agencies, including:
- the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, to assess the biosecurity risk in relation to you or the goods that you bring into Australia and compliance with the
Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)
- the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, for the purposes of the
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) in relation to the movement of currency into Australia
- the Department of Health and Aged Care, to manage risks to human health and to assess compliance with the
Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)
- the Australian Bureau of Statistics, to analyse statistics about migration and administer the
Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 (Cth)
- send you ATD notifications.
We may use your email address to invite you to participate in a survey or other research about your experience using the ATD. Your participation will assist us in refining and improving the ATD.
How we collect your personal information
The Department collects your personal information from Qantas when you submit an ATD. We use and/or disclose that information for the purposes explained in this Privacy Notice.
Generally, the Department will collect your personal information from you, Qantas, or a third party who is authorised to act on your behalf. We may collect personal information about you from third parties, which may include other Australian Government agencies, law enforcement agencies or foreign governments.
All ATD information is held by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. ATD information is also held securely on your personal device within the Qantas App. Your ATD will remain visible in the Qantas App for a short period, usually for 24 hours after your scheduled arrival in Australia. It will be deleted from your personal device when the Qantas App is next opened after the expiration of that 24 hour period. Qantas does not store the ATD on its systems.
Consequences of not providing your information
If you do not provide your personal information and complete all mandatory fields, you will not be able to submit an ATD. You may be required to complete and submit a paper Incoming Passenger Card when you arrive in Australia.
Who the Department generally discloses your personal information to
The Department discloses personal information to the following Australian Government agencies, being information the Department has collected on their behalf: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Department discloses personal information to other Australian Government agencies and state and territory government agencies for those agencies to undertake their statutory duties and associated functions. The main agencies are the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Education, Services Australia, Office of National Intelligence, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the Clean Energy Regulator in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Where permitted by the Privacy Act or other applicable legislation, the Department will disclose your personal information to those agencies.
The Department discloses personal information to enforcement bodies where reasonably necessary for enforcement related activities, such as to:
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- Australian Taxation Office
- Australian Federal Police
- state revenue offices
- state or territory police forces.
Personal information collected via the ATD will be disclosed to the same agencies that the Department would disclose your paper Incoming Passenger Card to, if you submit a paper Incoming Passenger Card instead of an ATD. Further information is on Form 1442i Privacy Notice.
The Department also discloses information to its contracted service providers, and shares de-identified, aggregated data with the Australian Bureau of Statistics for statistical and research purposes.
Disclosure of personal information to overseas recipients
The Department is not likely to disclose the personal information collected via the ATD to overseas recipients.
How you can access or correct your personal information
You will be able to update your ATD at any time until you present it to an Australian Border Force officer or Biosecurity officer.
You can also make a request for access to and correction of your personal information under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) and the Privacy Act. The Department’s Privacy Policy explains how you can seek access to the personal information that we hold about you, or how you can seek to have this information corrected.
Concerns and complaints
If you believe that the Department has handled your personal information in a way that breaches our obligations in the APPs, our Privacy Policy explains how you can make a complaint and how we will deal with your complaint.
How you can contact us
Full contact details can be found on the Department’s website:
Contact us (homeaffairs.gov.au)
Alternatively, you can provide feedback by:
using the online feedback form at
Compliments, complaints and suggestions (homeaffairs.gov.au); or
writing to:
The Manager Global Feedback Unit
GPO Box 241
Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia
