We advised the Australian Government as it considered the privacy implications of the app and recommended legislative privacy protections to instil the highest level of trust and confidence in the community. The OAIC has also taken on new responsibilities for overseeing privacy safeguards built into the COVIDSafe app system. Our international perspective and understanding informed and strengthened our advice to government, regulated entities and the community. Our engagement allowed us to harness the experience of data protection authorities around the world in grappling with the privacy impacts of new and emerging responses to COVID-19. This has never been so important, as we sought solutions to halt the spread of the virus.Īs the use of both personal information and digital solutions became necessary to respond to the pandemic and adjust to remote work, learning and social engagement, privacy issues also came to the fore. The OAIC’s Corporate Plan for 2019–20 outlined a vision to increase public trust and confidence in the protection of personal information and access to government-held information. They have also highlighted the importance of maintaining public trust and confidence in the handling of personal information and in providing access to government-held information, both vital tools in our emergency response. These seismic events have had a significant impact on the everyday lives of us all. The past 12 months have brought unprecedented challenges, with Australia’s worst bushfire season on record soon followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
advising the public, organisations and agencies.reviewing decisions made under the FOI Act.carrying out strategic information management functions within the Australian Government under the AIC Act.protecting the public’s right of access to documents under the FOI Act.making sure that Australian Government agencies and Australian Privacy Principles (APP) entities comply with the Privacy Act and other laws when handling personal information.Our purpose is to promote and uphold privacy and information access rights. Take a contemporary approach to regulation.Encourage and support proactive release of government-held information.Influence and uphold privacy and information access rights frameworks.Advance online privacy protections for Australians.Our annual performance statement details our activities and key deliverables, and measures our performance against our Portfolio Budget Statement targets and the strategic priorities set out in the OAIC Corporate Plan 2019–20: Program 1.1Ĭomplaint handling, compliance and monitoring, and education and promotion. Provision of public access to Commonwealth Government information, protection of individuals’ personal information, and performance of Information Commissioner, freedom of information and privacy functions. Our Portfolio Budget Statement describes the OAIC’s outcome and program framework. performing strategic functions relating to information management within the Australian Government under the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 (AIC Act).protecting the public’s right of access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).ensuring proper handling of personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and other legislation.Our key role is to meet the needs of the Australian community in relation to the regulation of privacy and freedom of information.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is an independent statutory agency within the Attorney-General’s portfolio, established under the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010.
How to access Australian Government information.Freedom of information Open sub menu for Freedom of information.
Australian Privacy Principles guidelines.