Privacy
Under the Administrative Arrangements Order of 3 December 2007, responsibility for privacy and freedom of information, including administration of the Privacy Act 1988 and the Freedom of Information Act 1982, was transferred from the Attorney-General’s portfolio to the portfolio of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Administrative arrangements are currently being settled for the transfer of the Information Law Branch of the Attorney-General’s Department to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Responsibility for e-commerce and the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 has been transferred within the Attorney-General’s Department to the Copyright Law Branch. Responsibility for parliamentary privilege has been transferred to the Constitutional Policy Unit. Information on those topics can be found elsewhere on the www.ag.gov.au website.
The privacy and freedom of information pages on this website are no longer being maintained and it is expected that their content will be updated and transferred to the website of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the near future.
(This page refers to the Department's responsibilities for privacy policy. For practical advice on the Department's compliance with the Information Privacy Principles, see the privacy statement.)
The Australian Government's privacy legislation is administered by the Information Law Branch of the Information Law and Human Rights Division of the Attorney-General's Department.
The Privacy Act is the principal piece of legislation providing protection of personal information in the federal public sector and in the private sector. It also establishes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The Privacy Act provides eleven Information Privacy Principles for the federal public sector and ten National Privacy Principles for private sector organisations. These Privacy Principles deal with all stages of the processing of personal information, setting out standards for the collection, use, disclosure, quality and security of personal information. They also create requirements of access to, and correction of, such information by the individuals concerned.
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Downloads
An Outline of AGD Obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 - 91.5KBMemorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner and the Office of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner - 219KB
Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner and the Office of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner - 91KBAttorney-General's Department Personal Information Digest entry 2006 - 360KBAttorney-General's Department Personal Information Digest entry 2006 - 480KB