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Why bother?
For those who are familiar with the language of human rights, the need for privacy protection may already seem obvious. But others may believe that privacy law gets in the way of business and government efficiency. There is a tendency to dismiss privacy as just so much politically correct nonsense.
In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Privacy – at least in the form of information privacy law, like the Privacy Act – can actually benefit efficiency, particularly by protecting the reputation of your organisation, and building productive relationships with clients and staff alike.
People care about privacy – and they are wary about organisations misusing their personal information. See here for the results of the 2006 survey on privacy, conducted by UMR or see our section relating to later surveys we have run.
If we are to get the full benefits of new technologies and modern information opportunities, consumers need to trust that their privacy will be protected. This is something that is recognised across the world.
Also, building in privacy to business processes makes sense. As the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, said at the 2006 Privacy Issues Forum: “good privacy is good business”. Read the text of her speech to find out why.