Australia's national privacy regulator,
protecting personal information
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For the media

The Office is able to assist media with comment and background information on privacy issues. Please note however that we are not able to comment on investigations of privacy breaches that we undertake.

For all media enquiries, please contact: 
Leila
0407 663 968
media@privacy.gov.au

Media releases

Useful facts about the Privacy Act:

  • The Australian Privacy Commissioner is the national privacy regulator.
  • The Privacy Act regulates the way in which personal information can be collected by organisations and government agencies, the accuracy of the information, how it is kept secure, and how it is used and disclosed, and enforces the rights of individuals to access and correct the information held about them.
  • The Privacy Act also governs the use of tax file numbers by both individuals and organisations, as well as credit worthiness information held by credit reporting agencies and credit providers.
  • Those with responsibilities under the Privacy Act include: Australian and ACT government agencies, large businesses (with a turnover of more than $3 million), some small businesses in certain circumstances, and all private health service providers. The Privacy Act does not cover State or Northern Territory government agencies, nor the handling by individuals of other people's personal information (except for tax file numbers).
  • The Privacy Act is not prescriptive legislation: it doesn't tell organisations and government agencies what they must do in each situation. Rather, it offers principles about the way in which personal information should be handled, and each organisation or government agency needs to apply the principles to their own situation.

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