Privacy and Information
The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) regulates how personal information is handled which is defined as:
…information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.
Common examples include an individual’s name, address, phone number, date of birth, medical records, and signature. The Privacy Act includes thirteen Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which apply to some private sector organisations, as well as most Australian and Norfolk Island Government agenci
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The Complaints Handling Officer |
You can also complain to the Federal Privacy Commissioner. Information on the Privacy Act can be found on the Office of the Information Commissioner’s website.
Privacy Impact Assessments
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a systematic assessment of a project that identifies the impact that the project might have on the privacy of individuals, and sets out recommendations for managing, minimising, or eliminating that impact.
Privacy Impact Assessment Register
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is required by the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code to maintain a register of the Privacy Impact Assessments it conducts. The ARC’s register for the period 31 Jan 2016 – 1 July 2021 is published here:
| Date/Ref | Issue | Description/Outcome |
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24/05/16 |
PIA undertaken on the ARC’s draft Research Integrity and Research Misconduct Policy in relation to stakeholder privacy concerns identified in the policy. |
The PIA looked at the purpose of the policy and the key privacy risks. The PIA recommended changes to further safeguard the privacy of stakeholders and concluded that the changes adopted in the draft policy would alleviate stakeholder’s concerns. |