Data custodians

Data custodians are responsible for good data management practices, including how the information is securely collected, managed and disclosed while in their care.

The Centre for Victorian Data Linkage (CVDL) works closely with our data custodians to ensure they understand their responsibilities and accountability for authorising the release of their data for an approved research project.

CVDL's objective is to ensure the terms and conditions of any agreement fully reflect the data custodian's interests and requirements, and that adequate controls are observed by all parties.

Once the data custodian has approved a data linkage project, a member of the CVDL Client Services team will work with the data custodian to:

ensure all supporting documents are in place, including at the administrative, technical and operational levels
determine and document the agreed information needed for the linkage project
prepare a data extraction plan prior to the extraction process commencing
establish data transfer protocols to ensure security obligations are met.

Data custodians can be confident that CVDL operates a strict security regime for linking and releasing linked data by adhering to the Victorian Health Records Act 2001, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988.

To find out more about how the Centre for Victorian Data Linkages can assist you please email us at cvdl@dhhs.vic.gov.au.