Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind spoke at the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) SydneySEC cyber security conference yesterday. She covered her first 100 days in the role, privacy law reform, OAIC enforcement priorities and advice for cyber security practitioners seeking to champion privacy. ‘Instilling the best (privacy) practices right at the beginning of the value chain, rather than working out how to mop up problems at the end, is the direction we want to travel and very much where I hope organisations will go,’ she said. #SydneySEC
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Government Administration
Sydney, NSW 13,212 followers
We promote and uphold privacy and information access rights
About us
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is the independent national regulator for privacy and freedom of information. Our purpose is to uphold privacy and information access rights. As an independent statutory agency, the OAIC’s work is of national significance and plays an important role in shaping Australia’s information handling landscape across the economy – from government, digital platforms and the online environment, to health, finance and telecommunications. We are an agency within the Attorney-General Department’s portfolio with responsibility for: • privacy functions under the Privacy Act 1988 and other legislation • freedom of information, in particular review of decisions made by agencies and ministers under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
- Website
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http://www.oaic.gov.au
External link for Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
- Industry
- Government Administration
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Sydney, NSW
- Type
- Government Agency
- Founded
- 2010
Locations
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Primary
GPO Box 5288
Sydney, NSW 2001, AU
Employees at Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Updates
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According to our 2023 review of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS), only 20% of Australian Government agencies reported maintaining an IPS information register, falling from 38% of agencies in 2018. Maintaining an IPS information register was the most common challenge agencies reported, experienced by 36% of agencies, up from 18% in 2018. We recommend agencies decide if information should be prepared for publication at the time it’s created. An internal IPS information register can help identify documents for publication, record decisions made in relation to publication and systematically review IPS information for accuracy, currency and completeness. More information on complying with the IPS: https://lnkd.in/d8XhaKpz
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Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind attended the virtual 61st Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) Forum hosted by Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia last week. Commissioner Kind shared an update on the OAIC’s return to having 3 commissioners and our proceedings against Medibank. She highlighted the Medibank proceedings as a ‘seminal moment for the OAIC’ and that the OAIC ‘will be using our regulatory powers to go after systemic and particularly egregious privacy harms’. Our state and territory counterparts Office of the Information Commissioner (Queensland), Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner , Information and Privacy Commission NSW and Office of the Information Commissioner NT also attended and provided updates from their jurisdictions. Read the communique: https://lnkd.in/eP8ADGMk
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Today we mark the United Nations Public Service Day. Among other things, the day celebrates the value of public service to the community, recognises the work of public servants, and encourages young people to pursue careers in the public sector. If you’re interested in joining the public service in Australia, working with us at the OAIC will put you at the forefront of data protection and access to information regulation. We strive to promote and uphold the rights of the community to access government-held information and have their personal information protected. If this sounds like you, view our current vacancies: https://lnkd.in/gNnmjJ9z
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Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind attended the Privacy Authorities Australia meeting, hosted by the Office of the Information Commissioner (Queensland) earlier this week. The forum meets twice a year and is an opportunity for the OAIC and state and territory privacy regulators to share significant developments in their jurisdictions and discuss emerging privacy issues. Commissioner Kind facilitated a discussion on Digital ID ahead of the commencement of the legislation by 1 December, focused on the privacy regulatory functions and possible intersections in responsibility between the OAIC and the state and territory privacy regulators.
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Only 29% of the Australian Government agencies we surveyed on the Information Publication Scheme have a strategy for increasing open access to information they hold. This was down from 35% in 2018. By being ‘open by design’ and publishing information proactively, government agencies can uphold the community’s fundamental right to access government information and build trust. Start by reading the open by design principles: https://lnkd.in/gKyjUYcW #OpenByDesign #AccessToInformation #FOI
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Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind discussed neurotechnology and privacy on a panel discussion at the Australian Human Rights Commission Neurotechnology and Human Rights symposium earlier today. Commissioner Kind said, ‘Neurotechnology is concerning due to the scope and scale of data involved, its ability to passively collect information without the individual’s knowledge, and its ability to control.’
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The report on our 5-yearly review of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) shows continued commitment across Australian Government agencies to increasing open access to information. - More agencies (94%) reviewed the operation of the IPS in their agency than in 2018 (82%). - 78% of agencies have appointed a senior executive officer to lead the agency's work on compliance with the IPS, up slightly from 76% in 2018 (but down from 93% in 2012). - 90% of agencies have published an IPS plan on their website. - Over 70% of agencies said they publish each of the required types of information on their website. - More agencies indicated they don’t charge for information required or permitted to be published under the IPS (82%, up from 73% in 2018 and 68% in 2012). Read the report: https://lnkd.in/gy89pVEy While some of the results show continued commitment, a concerted effort is required by agencies to support proactive release of information. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be spotlighting areas for agencies to focus on to improve access to information. #AccessToInformation #FreedomOfInformation #FOI
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We’ve released our report with the findings of our 5-yearly review of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS). The IPS requires government agencies to publish a broad range of information on their website and authorises agencies to proactively publish other information. Overall, the results provide persuasive evidence that there's much to be done to realise the object of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 that information held by government is to be managed for public purposes and is a national resource. The review findings will help both the OAIC and agencies identify where improvements can be made to support the proactive publication of government-held information. Read our media release: https://lnkd.in/gMXVKeCJ #AccessToInformation #FOI
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Acting Australian Information Commissioner and Freedom of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd attended the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) annual forum virtually yesterday. The OAIC was elected as a member of the ICIC’s Executive Committee. ‘We strive to achieve the same objectives within the ICIC and it’s a tremendous honour to be able advance these objectives nationally with the support of a powerful and credible international community,’ said Commissioner Tydd. Read our media release: https://lnkd.in/eM9jSkR5
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