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From 12 March 2013 content is no longer being added to, or amended, on this site, consequently some information may be out of date.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.

Where can I find more information about privacy for private sector organisations?

Attached are a number of links. They may help your organisation to better understand privacy issues arising from the new Commonwealth privacy laws for the private sector:

INFORMATION SHEET 1 - 2001 Overview of the Private Sector Provisions - offers a broad overview of the new privacy law for the private sector.

INFORMATION SHEET 2 - 2001 Preparing for 21 December 2001 - offers some tips on how to plan for compliance with the privacy laws.

INFORMATION SHEET 12 - 2001 Coverage of and Exemptions from the Private Sector Provisions - this gives information on the organisations that are covered by the legislation, and also what kinds of acts/practices are exempt. There is a section on small businesses.

Information Sheet 13 - The Federal Privacy Commissioner's Approach to Promoting Compliance with the Privacy Act - sets out the Privacy Commissioner's approach to privacy compliance, which is a conciliation approach based on complaints about alleged breaches of privacy.

This is the overall link to the Information Sheets.

The text of the 10 National Privacy Principles.

The Guidelines to the National Privacy Principles is a longer document that gives advice on how the ten National Privacy Principles apply in the private sector. The advice is generic, but offers some guidance about how to comply with the principles.

The full text of The Privacy Act 1988.