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 credit provider reimbursed the complainant $1,096 and removed the default listing from their consumer credit information file.
• In H v Credit Provider [2003] PrivCmrA 6, the complainant disputed a default that was listed on their credit file. Following an investigation by the Office, the Commissioner was satisfied that the credit provider had not breached the Privacy Act or the Credit Reporting Code of Conduct.
• In I v Major wholesaler [2003] PrivCmrA 7, the complainant complained that there had been unauthorised access to their credit report held by a credit reporting agency. As a result of investigations by this Office the wholesaler reviewed their credit reporting procedures, changed their business practices, consolidated their national credit reporting function into one office in one state and paid the complainant $7,500 compensation for the breach.
• In J v Two Individuals [2003] PrivCmrA 8, the complainant alleged that there had been an inappropriate disclosure of quashed conviction information. Following an investigation by the Office, the respondent apologised to the complainant for the breach.
• In K v Financial Institution [2003] PrivCmrA 9, The complainants, a married couple, held a joint account with the respondent who erroneously linked the account's number to an account held by a different family member who had the same name as one of the complainants. The respondent acknowledged its error in linking the accounts and that this resulted in the disclosure of the complainants' information and agreed to the claim for $1,000 in compensation.

The Federal Privacy Commissioner publishes case notes of finalised complaints that he considers would be of interest to the general public. Not all complaints are recorded in case notes so the published notes only illustrate the types of cases resolved by the Office rather than giving a comprehensive account of them. Most cases chosen for inclusion in case notes involve new interpretation of the Act or associated legislation, illustrate systemic issues, or illustrate the application of the law to a particular industry.

The notes do not identify the parties to the complaint. Identities are kept confidential to maintain the privacy of the parties involved.

The Privacy Act makes it a function of the Commissioner to endeavour to resolve complaints by conciliation (s.27(1)(a)). As a result, the outcome in any particular case reflects a number of factors, including the applicable law, the facts of the matter and the approach to the conciliation process taken by both complainant and respondent.

Please go to the Complaint Case Notes and Complaint Determinations page for more details.