Site Changes

On 1 November 2010 the Office of the Privacy Commissioner was integrated into the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and a new website established at www.oaic.gov.au.

Note 1: Major changes to the Privacy Act 1988 will come into effect in March 2014. Agencies, businesses and not for profits need to start preparing for these changes. For more information go to our privacy law reform page at www.oaic.gov.au
Note 2: From 12 March 2013 content is no longer being added to, or amended, on this site, consequently some information may be out of date. For new privacy content visit the www.oaic.gov.au website.

Before you make a complaint

Use our ComplaintChecker to see if your privacy complaint is covered by the Act.

Generally, before you can make a complaint, you must first complain in writing to the agency or organisation you believe has interfered with your privacy. You must also give the agency or organisation a reasonable time (usually 30 days) to respond to your complaint. In some cases the Office may hold off investigating where an agency or organisation has advised the complainant within the 30 days that it is taking action but a formal response is yet to be provided.

The agency or organisation you are complaining about is called the respondent.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, or if you do not receive a response, you can lodge a complaint with our Office.

You should also check how long it has taken for you to complain to our Office. If you knew about the privacy issue for more than 12 months before coming to our Office, we may decide not to investigate.

For more information about this Office's complaints process, you can call our Privacy Enquiries Line on 1300 363 992.