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From 12 March 2013 content is no longer being added to, or amended, on this site, consequently some information may be out of date.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

Law enforcement and national security

Who is covered by the Privacy Act?

In general, Australian Government law enforcement agencies are covered by the Privacy Act, including, for example:

Australian Federal Police
Australian Customs Service
CrimTrac.

Some government law enforcement, intelligence-gathering and national security activities are not covered by the Privacy Act. This is either because:

the agency is exempt from the Privacy Act (in particular, intelligence agencies such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, and the Office of National Assessments) or
it is a State or Territory government agency such as the NSW Police Force (see State and Territory privacy laws).

Other places to go

The Privacy Commissioner has authority under the Crimes Act 1914 to investigate alleged breaches of the Spent Convictions Scheme, which allows individuals with old minor convictions not to disclose them in certain circumstances.

For information on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing legislation, see www.privacy.gov.au/law/other/aml.

For information on photos and surveillance.

The Office provides privacy advice to Australian and ACT government agencies on a number of matters including in relation to law enforcement and national security issues. The Office's public submissions can be viewed at www.privacy.gov.au/materials/types/submissions?sortby=65.
If you think an agency or organisation has misused your personal information, you can make a complaint. To find out more, see Complaints.