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From 12 March 2013 content is no longer being added to, or amended, on this site, consequently some information may be out of date.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

Types

Documents under "Fact Sheets", sorted by "name".

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Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 1: Credit providers (May 1996)

Credit providers Am I a credit provider? How does the law affect agents of credit providers? What are credit providers required to do under the law? Credit reporting Credit providers Under the provisions of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act, credit reporting agencies can generally only give access to personal credit in...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 2: Mercantile agents (debt collection agents) (May 1996)

Can a mercantile agent have access to the records held by a credit reporting agency? What information can a credit provider disclose to a mercantile agent? Can a mercantile agent also be a credit provider? Can a mercantile agent have access to the records held by a credit reporting agency? Under Part IIIA of the Privacy Act, a me...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 3: Consumer and commercial credit (May 1996)

Why do I need to know the difference between consumer and commercial credit? What is consumer credit? What is commercial credit? How can I tell whether the credit someone has applied for is consumer or commercial credit? What if someone applies for credit for both private and business purposes? Are references between...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 4: Customer agreement (May 1996)

In what circumstances do credit providers need to get a customers agreement to their obtaining or disclosing credit information about the customer? Does the customers agreement have to be in writing? Is there a particular form of words that has to be used when obtaining agreement? In what circumstances do credit provider...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 5: Authorisation for agents (financial counsellors & others) (May 1996)

Authorisation for agents (financial counsellors and others) Financial counsellors Others (e.g. accountants, solicitors or financial advisers) Authorisation for agents (financial counsellors and others) Under the Privacy Act individuals have the right to obtain access to their credit report held by a credit reporting agency...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 6: Disclosure by credit providers of credit worthiness information (May 1996)

What information is protected by the Privacy Act? Do commercial references come within s.18N? What information can be disclosed by a credit provider when verifying application details? What may not be disclosed by a credit provider when verifying application details? Can a credit provider disclose name and address details t...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 7: Credit reporting databases (May 1996)

Credit reporting databases What kinds of databases are subject to the Privacy Act? What sort of information can be stored on the database? Who can the information on the database be released to? What else do I need to do? Credit reporting databases This Fact Sheet describes the laws regulating businesses that operate...

Credit Reporting Fact Sheet 8: Access and amendment (May 1996)

Who is affected by the credit reporting provisions of the Privacy Act? How do I access my credit information? Do I have to pay for access to my information? What happens if the information on my file is inaccurate? What can I do if I think a credit reporting agency has not dealt with my access or amendment request properly...