20/8/2001

"Nearly one third of Commonwealth websites still fail to meet the baseline requirement of displaying a privacy statement. For government agencies, anything less than 100% compliance is not acceptable," said the Privacy Commissioner.

"The results of the websites audit are overall disappointing," said Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton, in a letter to agency heads about the results of a recent privacy audit of Commonwealth Government web sites. "The Government set 1 June 2000 as the deadline for agencies to get their websites in order on privacy. It is a key part of the Government Online plan. Yet the audit clearly shows many government agencies are still failing their web users.

In May-July 2001 the Office undertook its third audit of Commonwealth government websites to determine if users were provided with sufficient information about the way their websites handle personal information. This is the first to be published by the Office.

"It is clear from this audit that a number of agencies need to devote more systematic attention to ensuring that their websites comply with the guidelines. After all, what is being asked of agencies is not unreasonable or difficult. It is simply a matter of them paying more attention to the privacy implications of their websites than they have to date," said Mr Crompton.

Crompton said the level of public interest in privacy issues should not be underestimated, referring to results from independent research reports on community attitudes to privacy commissioned by his Office. "More than half of all internet users (57%) surveyed had heightened concerns about the security of their personal information when using the internet. Such concerns will continue to inhibit the uptake of Government Online services unless government agencies provide strong online privacy assurances", he said. Copies of research results are available from www.privacy.gov.au/research/

Backgrounder

In May 1999, the Office issued Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government World Wide Websites. The Government adopted these guidelines as part of the Government's Online Strategy for the delivery of Commonwealth government services. The Government set 1 June 2000 as the deadline for implementing these guidelines.

The Office conducted a preliminary survey of Commonwealth websites in late 1999 for their compliance with the Guidelines. It found that only 18% displayed a privacy statement. In 2000 a formal audit of compliance was undertaken; results were presented to agencies in November 2000. While compliance with the requirement to display a privacy statement had risen to 57%, a significant improvement, more than one third of sites still did not comply with this fundamental requirement. In the latest audit, 69% of sites displayed a privacy statement but still, almost a third had not even taken this basic step.

The Privacy Compliance Audit: Commonwealth Government Websites 2001 is on the Office website at http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/pg1pubs.html#8.10.1 The Guidelines for Federal and ACT Government World Wide Websites are on the Office website at www.privacy.gov.au/issues/p7_2.html