This site provides information about the Privacy Act 1988 (the Act) and the obligations of all Defence personnel and Defence contractors to meet the requirements of the Act.
The Privacy Act 1988
The Act provides for the privacy of personal information in certain circumstances. Personal information is defined in Section 6 of the Act as:
'information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion'
The Act does not cover verbal comments about an individual or their physical privacy, nor privacy intrusions such as stalking, harassing, surveillance cameras or eavesdropping. These matters are dealt with under other laws, such as trespass.
Section 14 of the Act details the eleven Information Privacy Principles (IPP) that govern the handling of personal information by public sector agencies. The IPPs are designed to safeguard ADF members and their families, Defence APS employees and Defence contractors from inappropriate collection, use and disclosure of their personal information. In addition, they establish requirements for appropriate storage, security, access and alteration to records. The Act also contains ten National Privacy Principles (NPP) which establish minimum privacy standards for private sector organisations.
The Privacy Commissioner
The functions of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) include:
- Providing advice about the Act and privacy issues more generally
- Investigating complaints from individuals about interferences with privacy under the Act against federal and ACT government agencies and private sector organisations
The Privacy Commissioner has the power to initiate own motion investigations about potential breaches of privacy, that do not relate to a particular complainant.
Federal agencies, including Defence, must maintain records of the types of, and purposes for, the personal information they collect and hold. These records are published in the annual Personal Information Digest produced by the OPC.