A v Credit Provider [2006] PrivCmrA 1

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Improper listing of a payment default on an individual''s consumer credit information file.

A v Insurer [2002] PrivCmrA 1

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Disclosure of personal information in a sample ''Membership Arrears Payment Notice'' provided to employers.

A v Insurer [2005] PrivCmrA 1

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Denial of access to documents on various grounds, failure to provide reasons for denying access and excessive charges for providing access.

A v Licensed Club [2007] PrivCmrA 1

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Disclosure of personal information by a licensed club.

A v Medical Practitioner [2009] PrivCmrA 1

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Collection of personal information and access to personal information

A v Private Health Service Provider [2010] PrivCmrA 2

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Spent conviction information improperly taken into account

A v Private School [2008] PrivCmrA 1

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Refusal to give access to personal information held by a private school.

A v Private Sector Health Service Provider [2004] PrivCmrA 14

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Excessive charge imposed for access to personal information (medical records)

A Guide for Directors, Privacy and Boards: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You (May 2004)

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Australian Government agencies in the Northern Territory - Indigenous Protocol (entitled Australian Government agencies in the Northern Territory - Indigenous Protocol (entitled "Minding Your Own Business" - February 1998)

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Automated Assistance in Administrative Decision-Making - Better Practice Guide (Non-OPC document with OPC contributions) (February 2007)

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ACMA and Australian Privacy Commissioner to examine botched Telstra mail out

27 October 2010 The Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner are looking into the circumstances of a botched mail out by Telstra to its customers.

ahm, FlyBuys, PayPal & NAB - Australian Privacy Awards finalists

07 Oct 09 Major Australian companies, not for profit organisations and government agencies have made it onto the list of finalists for this year's Australian Privacy Awards, announced today by the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis.

Announcement: Acting Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes amended case note 4 for 2004

27/05/04 The Acting Federal Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim has today re-published case note 4 regarding disclosure of personal information within a Commonwealth Government agency. InX v Commonwealth Agency [2004] PrivCmrA 4, the complainant alleged that the agencys employee disclosed to the complainants ex-partner that the com...

Announcement: Acting Federal Privacy Commissioner Publishes New Case Notes

23/6/04 Acting Federal Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim today released nine new case notes. "Issuing case notes like these is one of a number of measures the Office continues to develop to assist people in understanding how both the Privacy Act and the Office operate. These case notes provide important guidance about what the Commiss...

Announcement: Bundled consents and the Privacy Act

23 May 2002 "Bundled consents are not good privacy or business practices and are totally contrary to the spirit of the Privacy Act", said Malcolm Crompton, Federal Privacy Commissioner. "Consent for the collection, use and disclosure of ones personal information should always be given freely and voluntarily. It should not be conditi...

Announcement: Commissioner encourages individuals to enter international privacy paper writing competition

19/03/04 Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton is urging individuals interested in privacy to submit a paper about privacy to an international competition that will earn the winner(s) $US 3,000 cash and the opportunity to present the paper at the 26th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. "...

Announcement: Entries to the Barbara Wellbery Memorial Award are now being sought

13 May 2005 Individuals interested in privacy may wish to submit a paper to the Barbara Wellbery Memorial Award about privacy. Award winner(s) will receive $US 3,000 in cash and the opportunity to present the paper to an international privacy conference in 2006. As part of the Barbara Wellbery Memorial Award, a stipend of up to $US 2,000...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case note 3 for 2004

24/03/04 The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has today released case note 3 regarding the disclosure of personal information, between financial institutions, collected prior to commencement of the National Privacy Principles. In H v Financial Institution A and B [2004] PrivCmrA 3 the complainant alleged that there ha...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes 1 - 7, 2005

25 February 2005 The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has today released case notes 1 to 7 regarding excessive charges for access to records, a disputed credit file listing, inappropriate disclosure of personal information and a failure to appropriately secure documents when in transit. In A v Insurer [2005] Pri...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes 1 and 2 for 2004

16/1/04The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has today released case notes 1 and 2 regarding the use of personal information by an insurance company and a large retail outlet. In N v Private Insurer [2004] PrivCmrA 1 the complainant raised concerns that an organisation had unnecessarily collected personal information durin...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes 10 and 11

22/9/03 The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has today released case notes 10 and 11 regarding the use of personal information by Commonwealth agencies. In L v Commonwealth Agency [2003] PrivCmrA 10, the complainant raised concerns relating to the security of his personal information held by the agency. The complaina...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes 16 - 19, 2004

The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has today released case notes 16 to 19 regarding collection of personal information, a default listing on consumer credit file and the use of personal information for direct marketing. In Z v Credit Provider [2004] PrivCmrA 16 the complainant attended a bank branch and presented a cheque marked...

Announcement: Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes latest case notes

30/6/03 The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has today released five privacy complaint case notes that deal mainly with consumer credit reporting issues. In G v Credit Provider [2003] PrivCmrA 5, the complainant disputed a default that was listed on their credit file. As a result of investigations by the Office, the...

Announcement: Formal Investigation into Federal Government Web Site Commenced

12 June 2002 "We are aware of allegations that a federal government web site*, designed for young people, may have spammed users as part of two competitions it was running. I have commenced a formal investigation into the matter to determine if the Privacy Act has been breached," said Timothy Pilgrim, Deputy Federal Privacy Commissioner....

Announcement: Inquiry into Residential Tenancy Databases

19/11/2003 Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has welcomed the release of an Issues Paper on the operation of Residential Tenancy Databases in Australia. Residential Tenancy Databases (RTDs) are privately owned, electronic databases that collect information on tenants to assist property managers and landlords assess ri...

Announcement: Privacy Act and Employee Records Exemption

21 May 2002 The Privacy Act contains an exemption for some employee records, on the grounds that such matters are covered by workplace relations law and practice. However, this exemption is limited to acts and practices directly related to current and former employment relationships. It is not clear that the mooted confidentiality c...

Announcement: Privacy and Passport Initiatives

21 May 2002 "As with most technology, the use of a biometric identifier on a passport is not inherently privacy invasive. Its the implementation of the biometric identifier that will determine if it is privacy enhancing or invasive," said Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton. "Biometrics are powerful tools that also can go...

Announcement: Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes 8 to 18

29 June 2005 The Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, has today released case notes 8 to 18 regarding personal information handled by credit providers, insurance providers, employment agencies, a telecommunications service provider, an internet service provider and federal government agencies. The Privacy Commissioner publishes case...

Announcement: Public prayers and the Privacy Act

10 May 2002 Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim said" the Privacy Act is about organisations working within peoples expectations of what will happen with their personal information." "Many of the current practices in relation to public prayers or printing of personal information in church newsletters will be within peoples...

Announcement: Resolution on improving the communication of data protection and privacy information practices

25th International Conference of Data Protection & Privacy Commissioners Sydney, 12 September 2003 This resolution was adopted on Friday 12 September 2003 Proposer: Privacy Commissioner, Australia Co-sponsors: Commissioner for Data Protection and Access to Information, Brandenberg, Germany; Commission National...

Announcement: Review of Credit Reporting Determinations

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is currently reviewing its Credit Provider Determinations. The Office has prepared Consultation Papers to assist individuals and organisations to prepare comments for the review. Assignees and Classes of Credit Provider Consultation Paper No. 1 discusses: Credit Provider Determination...

Announcement: Review of the Medicare and PBS Privacy Guidelines issued under section 135AA of the National Health Act 1953

The Federal Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, is asking organisations, agencies and individuals to give their views about the operation of the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Programs Privacy Guidelines. All interested parties are invited to make submissions to the review. Background The Privacy Guidelines apply to the handling of i...

Announcement: Transurban privacy review completed

24 May 2002 "From the evidence available, it appears that the activities of an ex-employee of Transurban resulted in the disclosure of customer information to people outside of the organisation," said Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton. "As a result of the disclosure, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner conducted a review of T...

Announcements: Privacy and the NOIE Spam Report

16 April 2003 Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, has welcomed the release of the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) Final report of the NOIE review of the spam problem and how it can be countered. "The NOIE Report proposes some good solutions that will help reduce the spam problem," Mr Crompton said. "Spam poses a...

Asia Pacific Privacy Commissioners join together to fight identity theft

3 May 10  A new free online tool to help people protect themselves against identity theft has been launched as part of Privacy Awareness Week 2010.

Australian Information Commissioner Designate welcomes new Privacy Commissioner

22 July 10  Australian Information Commissioner Designate, Professor John McMillan, today welcomed the appointment of Mr Timothy Pilgrim as Australia’s Privacy Commissioner.

Australian Privacy Commissioner obtains privacy undertakings from Google

9 July 10  Australian Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis has concluded her investigation into Google's collection of unsecured WiFi payload data in Australia using Street View vehicles.

Australian privacy efforts acknowledged internationally

09 Feb 10 In recent weeks both the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and leading privacy lawmaker Michael Kirby have been acknowledged internationally for their work.

Australians encouraged to mobilise their mobile phone privacy

5 May 10  Three Federal Government agencies have joined together to encourage Australians to think about privacy and security when using their mobile phones.

Advice for credit providers and credit reporting agencies when contracting out record management functions

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Application for Public Interest Determination from Department of Immigration and Citizenship April 2010

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Application for Public Interest Determination relating to genetic information July 2009

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See PDF above

Application to replace PID 9

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Approval by the Privacy Commissioner of guidelines issued under section 95AA of the Privacy Act 1988

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ATO Data-matching Proposal

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ATO Data-matching Proposal - Banking Transparency

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ATO Data-matching Protocol

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ATO Data-matching Protocol - Banking Transparency

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Australian Governmnet Solicitor Legal Briefing 2002 - Outsourcing

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Australian Privacy Awards & Privacy Medal 2009 - Nomination Form

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ACT Corrective Services: Client and Staff Records

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ACT Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services: Client Records

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ACT Department of Justice And Community Safety: Registrar General's Office

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ACT Human Rights Commission

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ACT Office of the Community Advocate (now ACT Public Advocate): Client Records

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ACT Planning and Land Authority

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ACT Residential Tenancies Tribunal: Client and Employee Records

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Annual Report 2003-04: Financial Statements

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Annual Report 2004-05: Financial Statements

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Annual Report 2005-06: Financial Statements

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Annual Report 2006-07: Financial Statements

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Annual Report 2007-08: Financial Statements

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Australian Customs Service: SmartGate Automated Border Processing

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A Global Culture that Respects Privacy

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Welcome Speech delivered by the Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, to the 25th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, Sydney, 10 September 2003.

A Practical Approach to Developing Privacy Codes

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delivered by Timothy Pilgrim, Deputy Privacy Commissioner, to a Gilbert and Tobin seminar, 14 June 2001

Access and Privacy: Getting the Balance Right

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A speech delivered by Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, to the Australian Court Administrators Group - Courts and Tribunals Annual Conference, 25 November 2005.

AdForum 2001

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organised by www.consult.com.au, Sydney, 23 March 2001

ADVOC 2001

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organised by Norman Waterhouse lawyers , Glenelg, South Australia, 20 March 2001

Analysing the aftermath of 21 December: expectations and results to date

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a speech delivered by Brant Pridmore, Director Compliance, to Privacy Officer Summit, organised by Terrapinn Ltd, Sydney, 6 August 2002.

APEC and information privacy in Australia

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a speech delivered by Director of Policy, Brant Pridmore, to the Joint Asia Pacific Smart Card Forum and Australian IT Security Forum , Sydney, 26 May 2003.

APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder Seminar

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Speech by Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, to the APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder Seminar - Information Workshop for Australian Stakeholders, Sydney, 6 February 2008.

Are we celebrating a first birthday?

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a speech delivered by the Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, to the Fourth Administrative Law Conference convened by the Centre for International & Public Law at the Australian National University, Canberra, 2 November 2002.

Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA)

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Victorian Division. Wednesday 22 November 2000

Australian Health Privacy Law - Options for Reform

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Speech by Andrew Solomon, Director, Policy, to Health Privacy Futures 2008 Conference, Brisbane, 10 November 2008.

Australian Privacy Awards and Medal launch

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Speech by Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, to the Privacy Connections Breakfast, Sydney, 9 April 2008.

Australian Privacy Awards and Medal presentation dinner speech

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Speech by Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, at the gala presentation dinner of the inaugural Australian Privacy Awards and Medal, Amora Jamison Hotel Sydney, 27 August 2008.

Australian Privacy Commissioner's Privacy Workshops

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Promoting an Australian culture that respects privacy Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Fremantle, Canberra, November

Australians and their privacy

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a speech delivered by Gillie Kirk, Director, Promotion and Education, IBC Conferences, September 2001

Australians and Their Privacy - AIIA

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a speech delivered by Gillie Kirk, Director, Promotion and Education, Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), September 2001

Australians and Their Privacy - IBC

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a speech delivered by Gillie Kirk, Director, Promotion and Education, IBC Conferences, September 2001

Australians and their privacy - Malcolm Crompton

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a speech delivered by Malcolm Crompton, Privacy Commissioner during the launch the results of research into Community, business and Government attitudes towards privacy, Sydney , 31 July 2001

Awards launch speech by Senator the Hon John Faulkner

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Speech by Senator John Faulkner, to the Privacy Connections Breakfast, Sydney, 9 April 2008

Access to Share Registers; Submission to the Treasury (August 2009)

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Submission on Access to share registers and the regulation of unsolicited off-market offers - options paper 2009 (August 2009)

AusCheck Amendment Bill 2009; Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee (June 2009)

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Inquiry into the AusCheck Amendment Bill 2009 Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee June 2009

Australian Government Draft Smartcard Framework; Submission to the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) (March 2006)

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Submission on on the draft Australian Government Smartcard Framework to the Australian Government Information Management Office March 2006

Australian Government e-Authentication Framework for Individuals Discussion Paper; Submission to the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)(March 2006)

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Australian Government e-Authentication Framework for Individuals Discussion Paper, Submission by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner March 2006

Australian Government E-security Review; Submission to the Attorney-General's Department (August 2008)

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August 2008 Executive Summary The Office supports the development of an e-security framework that responds appropriately and proportionately to existing and emerging e-security risks.  Effective privacy protections for information and communication technologies will both depend on, as well as support, strong...

Australian Government Electoral Reform Green Paper - Strengthening Australia’s Democracy; Submission to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (December 2009)

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Submission on Australian Government Electoral Reform Green Paper- Strengthening Australia’s Democracy Submission to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet December 2009

Australian Government Electoral Reform Green Paper- Donations, Funding and Expenditure; Submission to the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet (February 2009)

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February 2009 KEY RECOMMENDATIONS The Office of the Privacy Commissioner makes the following recommendations: The Office suggests lessening the amount of personal information available online about individual donors, for example, by ensuring that an individual donors street address is not accessible on the A...

Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of Secrecy Laws - Discussion Paper 74; Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (August 2009)

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The Office's submission to the ALRC on its review of secrecy laws

Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of Secrecy Laws- Issues Paper 34; Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (February 2009)

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February 2009 Key recommendations 1. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (the Office) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) on its Review of Secrecy Laws - Issues Paper 34. 2. The Office makes the following recommendations: Secrecy provisions should...