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From 12 March 2013 content is no longer being added to, or amended, on this site, consequently some information may be out of date.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

Can I use my customer database to send a customer a Christmas Card?

Yes, as long as it is within the customer's reasonable expectations.

Sending a Christmas card is usually done to promote a relationship that an organisation already has with a customer and may often be within the range of activities such customers are likely to reasonably expect.

National Privacy Principle 2 allows an organisation to use personal information for the main purpose for which it collected the information, and also for purposes that are related to that purpose and within the individual's reasonable expectations. (If it wants to use the information for other purposes, it would usually need to have the individual's consent, although there are some exceptions to this rule.)

For more information about privacy and the private sector go to the National Privacy Principles and the Guidelines to the National Privacy Principles.