Privacy and Information
The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) regulates how personal information is handled. The Privacy Act defines 'personal information' 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
- signature.
The Privacy Act includes 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). They apply to:
- some private sector organisations, and
- most Australian and Norfolk Island Government agencies.
| Mail: | The Complaints Handling Officer Australian Research Council GPO Box 2702, CANBERRA ACT 2601 |
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Email: |
You can also complain to the Federal Privacy Commissioner. The Office of the Information Commissioner’s website contains more information about the Privacy Act.
Privacy Impact Assessments
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a systematic assessment of a project that identifies the impact the project might have on the privacy of individuals. It also sets out recommendations for managing, minimising, or eliminating that impact.
Privacy Impact Assessment Register
We maintain a register of Privacy Impact Assessments in line with the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code.
| Issue | Description/Outcome |
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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. |
This Privacy Impact Assessment Register was last updated on 10 February 2022.