[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]
08 December 2020
D Dahya
[FYI request #14110 email]
Dear D Dahya
Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA),
received on 11 November 2020. You requested the following:
1. What was wrong with the careers portal that warranted a redesign of it- it was
functioning well prior to the redesign and which retained the entire history?
2. Why has IRD deleted some of the job application histories from the careers
portal and not retained all of it after the redesign?
3. Why has IRD deleted some of the job application histories from the careers
portal without prior notification to the registered portal users?
4. Why has IRD deleted some of the job application histories from the careers
portal without giving the registered portal users the opportunity to save a copy?
5. Why has IRD deleted job application histories of registered portal users
knowing that this information is required by MSD registered job seekers as part of
their obligations to MSD- MSD being an organisation you engage in data matching
with?
6. If this is my information - why have you deleted it without my permission?
Perhaps this was a question for the Privacy Commission during Privacy week last
week?
7. Are you able to determine registered portal users who are also MSD registered
job seekers, if not, then shouldn't you preserve the entire histories of all
registered portal users?
8. Who did you consult with prior to redesigning the portal ie which people,
groups, subject matter experts?
9. How many unemployed people were consulted prior to the redesign of the
careers portal -as they are, obviously the portion of the population most likely to
use it?
10. If this is the first time this particular issue has been raised why has it taken
an MSD registered unemployed person to do so - despite all the skilled and
knowledgeable professionals in your organisation?
11. Of the applicants that were hired how many of them (& what percentage)
were long term unemployed at the time of application for year ending 2019 &
2018? Could you provide individual statistics for each respective year.
12. Generally, does IRD hire applicants currently in employment or unemployed
at time of application?
13. Will IRD/HR’s tendency to hire applicants that are currently in employment,
allow the rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor and will it not cause and
sustain long term unemployment?
14. Because, an MSD registered unemployed person, who somehow lacks the
skills to be employed(through lack of a reference, or extended period of
unemployment) can’t have been the only one to raise this issue whereas, the
Ref: 21OIA1312
[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]
currently employed skilled professionals, most likely have, and so I ask for
confirmation of this (insight) - 'confirmation', being key word in this FYI request.
Why haven’t IRD's knowledgeable and skilled professionals addressed this issue,
acknowledged it, or even be aware of it? Refer Q8,9,10 & 11 also.
15 Was IRD aware of the importance of the entire job application history to MSD
registered job seekers?
16. Was IRD aware of the requirement by MSD from MSD registered job seekers
to be able to provide historical job application history?
17. If IRD have deleted career portal histories, without notification, they need to
be able to produce a copy of the deleted history on request from portal users,
especially from those that are MSD registered job seekers, for any potential
MSD/SSA appeals hearings that may require historic information. Can IRD restore
the deleted job application histories from their careers portals and, if not, why
not?
18. Did a representative of IRD/HR attend last week’s Wellington Privacy seminar
during Privacy Week and, if not, why not? Refer Q6 above.
It may help if I explain the change that was made to Inland Revenue’s career portal and
provide some background around how information submitted through the portal is used.
The career portal was replaced in October 2019 as part of Inland Revenue’s Business
Transformation. The updated careers portal has been implemented as one of Inland
Revenue’s Software as a Service solutions.
When it comes to the retention of information submitted through the career portal,
Inland Revenue strives to meet all the requirements for data retention under both the
Public Record Act 2005 (the PRA) and the Privacy Act 1993 (the PA). Specifically, the PA
prohibits organisations retaining personal information beyond the purpose for which it
was submitted. Retaining information that was submitted through the career portal for
the express purpose of a job application after the application process has completed
would be in breach of Inland Revenue’s requirements under the PA.
While Inland Revenue is aware that job seekers need to provide historical job application
information to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), there is no formal information
sharing agreement with MSD, or any other agency, regarding job applications.
Therefore, information submitted through the career portal is not supplied to any other
agency by Inland Revenue. Additionally, Inland Revenue does not receive information
from other agencies regarding job applications.
Inland Revenue continues to meet the organisations legal and professional requirements
with regard to its hiring practices.
Some of your questions require further explanation. I will answer each of these in turn
below.
Questions 8 & 9
As with all system redesigns, Inland Revenue’s new career portal was designed with
input from internal sources with relevant expertise. The exact details of the staff
consulted is withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA, to protect the privacy of natural
persons.
Questions 11 & 12
This information is not collected by Inland Revenue during the application process. I am
therefore refusing these requests under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is
not held by Inland Revenue.
Ref: 21OIA1312
[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Question 18
Inland Revenue staff were in attendance at the Wellington Privacy seminar held during
Privacy Week 2020.
Right of Review
If you disagree with my decisions on your OIA request, you can ask an Inland Revenue
review officer to review my decisions. To ask for an internal review, please email the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue at: [email address].
Alternatively, under section 28(3) of the OIA, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman
to investigate and review my decision. You can contact the office of the Ombudsman by
email at: [email address].
Thank you for your request.
Yours sincerely
Simon Rice
Kairīwhi Kaiārahi Hinonga - Tangata me te Wāhi Mahi
Interim Enterprise Lead – People & Workplace
Ref: 21OIA1312
