Electronic Communication with the Department
Electronic Document (eDocument) Transactions
Guidelines for Electronic Document Transactions with the Department.
What is an eDocument? | Document format standards | Document contact details | eDocument confidentiality | Unacceptable use of eDocuments | Changes to eDocument transaction guidelines | Want more information?
The Department of Health and Ageing has the facilities to receive electronic documents (eDocuments).
What is an eDocument?
For the purpose of these guidelines, an eDocument is an electronic form of a document generated from an original hardcopy document. For example an eDocument may be a faxed document, a scanned image of a written document or a digital photograph. In general, eDocuments may be submitted to the Department via a number of media including email, physical media (e.g. CD-ROM) and fax.If you decide to send eDocuments to the Department, you should first contact the program area with which you are transacting to discuss the appropriate arrangements.
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eDocument format standards
The eDocuments that you send to the Department will only be accepted if they conform to the file formats specified at http://www.health.gov.au/email.htm#formats. Acceptable formats are specified to ensure that the Department will be able to efficiently open the files which you submit.Any eDocument you send to the Department should be clear, legible, unaltered and readily accessible for subsequent reference. If the Department has any reservations about a documents integrity, action will be taken to verify the eDocuments authenticity e.g. contacting the purported issuer of the document (e.g. educational institution) or contacting the purported sender to establish if it was sent by them or by an authorised person.
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Document contact details
When submitting an eDocument to the Department, please include the following contact details to ensure you receive a reply:- personal title (e.g. Mr, Ms, Dr, Prof. etc), first name and surname
- position title (e.g. Manager)
- organisation name
- e-mail address
- postal address
- phone number
- fax number
- date and time the document was sent.
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eDocument confidentiality
The confidentiality of eDocuments sent to the Department cannot always be guaranteed. eDocuments sent via standard delivery channels such as email, fax or post are at risk of being intercepted by a third party before reaching the Department. To help keep your eDocument confidential:- send it to the correct destination (e.g. designated email address, fax number);
- consider using registered mail
eDocuments received by the Department may be retained in an archival form as required by Commonwealth laws and regulations governing the retention of records of government agencies. eDocuments may be accessed and used by authorised officers of the Department when an appropriate need exists.
Unacceptable use of eDocuments
Do not send the Department eDocuments containing information that is:- harassing;
- threatening;
- designed to cause damage (e.g. virused);
- containing information that is illegal (e.g. obscene material).
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Changes to eDocument transaction guidelines
The Department has a right to revise these transaction guidelines without notice. The revisions will be available on this site. If you wish to provide the Department feedback about these guidelines please email enquiries@health.gov.au.Want more information?
If you would like to know more about transacting electronically with the Department, contact enquiries@health.gov.au.All general queries, not related to electronic transactions, should be sent to enquiries@health.gov.au
