12.3 Privacy Act

The Privacy Act 1993 controls how agencies collect, use, disclose, store and give access to information which may lead to an individual’s identification, such as names, birth dates, addresses, financial data and employment details. It does not include company or organisational information.

1. Purpose

   The Privacy Act’s aim is to promote and protect individual privacy. The focus is on purpose, not consent. When the council collects information, it must make it very clear why it is collecting their information and what it intends to do with it. Because the council only has to make individuals aware of what it will do with their information, it does not require their consent.

2. Privacy principles

At the heart of the Privacy Act are 12 principles: 

Principle	Summary
Principle 1 – purpose for collection	Only collect the information you need
Principle 2 – source of information	Obtain the information directly from the person concerned
Principle 3 – what to tell an individual	Tell them what you are doing
Principle 4 – manner of collection	Be ethical when you are doing it
Principle 5 – storage and security	Tale care of information once you've got it
Principle 6 – access	They can see it if they want to
Principle 7 – correction	They can correct it if it is wrong
Principle 8 – accuracy	Make sure it is accurate before you use it
Principle 9 – retention	Get rid of it when you're done with it
Principle 10 – use	Only use it for the purpose you obtained it for
Principle 11 – disclosure	Disclose the information only if that is why you obtained it
Principle 12 – unique identifiers	Be careful with unique identifiers

These principles reflect internationally accepted standards for handling personal information

 

 

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