Voluntary disclosure of personal information

When you share personal information with us, it allows us to better support you. This information helps Victoria Police know how you would prefer for us to communicate with you.

Who voluntary disclosure helps

Voluntary disclosure helps if you are often in contact with police and are a person with disability. This may be:

• a cognitive impairment (including acquired brain injury, autism, or dementia)
• a mental illness
• a combination of above.

If you need support to apply, your family or support workers can help you.

For example, voluntarily disclosed information can help if you need support:

• processing information
• understanding what is happening
• communicating what is happening
• communicating what you need from police.

How voluntary disclosure works

Voluntary disclosure helps us better communicate with you and make the right decisions during any contact.

These include:

• how to best communicate with you
• understand your individual support needs
• who to contact if you need help.

Having this information available can provide us with more options to best support you.

Who can voluntarily disclose information

You can voluntarily disclose personal information if you are:

• 18 years and over and can provide informed consent
• the person’s parent or legal guardian, if they are younger than 18 years of age, or if requested by the person and with the person's consent
• the person’s legal guardian or attorney for personal matters, if over 18 years of age, or if requested by the person and with the person's consent.

Who can apply for a voluntary disclosure of information application

You can apply if you are a person with disability or a mental illness.

To start, police will assess your request and will not proceed without your informed consent.

Police will consider:

• if you have already, or may come into contact with police
• if it supports your personal and social wellbeing to have the information recorded.

Voluntary disclosure may also be relevant for people who:

• wander or can become distressed or disorientated in public
• show behaviour that may put themselves or others at risk.

What you need to tell police

Police do not need medical information. Police only need to know what helps them understand how best to support you.

This information can be:

• known behaviours/triggers (for example, how you respond to police and other emergency services when upset and/or words or actions which might upset you)
• any known risks (for example, if there is a safety risk for you, police members or the community)
• effective communication strategies (for example, how best to de-escalate a situation and share information)
• a person who police can contact, if necessary and when appropriate
• the details of who has provided the information.

This information is personal. Victoria Police will consider how sharing this information with us benefits you before recording it.

How to make a voluntary disclosure of information application

To arrange an application, please contact your local police station. This can be done by calling, emailing or by visiting the police station.

A police officer will then:

• contact you
• meet with you to explain more
• listen to any of your concerns and answer any questions
• record volunteered information on the police database (known as LEAP), if informed consent is given.

If it is difficult to meet at the police station, we will make a reasonable adjustment so that the meeting can take place in a way that you are comfortable with.

Voluntary disclosure prep-sheet

Before your appointment, we recommend that you fill out a voluntary disclosure prep-sheet and bring it with you.

Download the voluntary disclosure prep-sheet(opens in a new window)

The person that the application is being made about must meet with police.

What to bring to your appointment

You must bring proof of identification (ID) and preferably a completed voluntary disclosure prep-sheet.

Who can attend the appointment

A support person can come to the appointment with you.

If you are under 18 years of age, you need a parent or legal guardian to attend with you.

If you would like support from a person who is independent of police, you can ask for an Independent Third Person (ITP) to be organised to attend your appointment with you. An ITP cannot provide consent on your behalf, however they can support you to understand the voluntary disclosure process.

What police do with voluntarily disclosed information

At the appointment, the police officer will explain to you how the information you share will be used and stored. They will do this before asking you for any personal information.

Once the police officer is satisfied you understand what making a voluntary disclosure is, and want to go ahead, they will look at the information from the prep sheet. They will then have a chat with you about the personal information you want recorded.

Your information will then be transferred onto the police database.

After a police supervisor gives approval, you will get a letter containing a copy of exactly what you have disclosed to us that has been recorded on the police database.

Accessing voluntarily disclosed information

There are strict rules about who can access the information. It can be accessed by Victoria Police and other law enforcement agencies but only when they need to see it.

Updating or changing volunteered information

The information given to police through the voluntary disclosure process can be deleted or removed at any time, provided there has been no interaction with police since the voluntary disclosure was made that would justify the information remaining.

You can also request an amendment or change to the information you provided. You can do this if the information is:

• incomplete
• inaccurate
• would give a misleading impression
• has changed or is out of date.

You can make a request to delete or amend information in person at a police station. You can make the request yourself at any time, or a parent, guardian, or legal practitioner for personal matters can make it for you. This process also applies when a young person who supplied information has since reached adulthood and wishes to update the information or discontinue their involvement with the voluntary disclosure.

If Victoria Police agrees to make the requested change, your information will be updated, and you will be notified.