Investigators Hamish Flanagan and Sammy joined the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) earlier this year, bringing with them a wealth of expertise from their work with Privacy Commissioners from different corners of the world.

COVID-19 is often described as an unprecedented threat to public health.  

The changes that come in with the Privacy Act 2020 on 1 December are significant. Not only are they a modernisation of the well-established concepts in the 1993 Privacy Act; they represent a platform for further change. We’re taking this rare opportunity as an office to re-set how we work as a regulator.

Privacy principle 6 of the Privacy Act gives people the right to access their own personal information. With six weeks to go until the Privacy Act 2020 comes into force, it’s a good time to become familiar with the new refusal grounds under principle 6.

The Privacy Act is changing – and one significant feature of the changes will be to put a time limit on when complainants can bring a complaint to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.

In July 2017, our office made two short videos featuring the Privacy Commissioner promoting child safety and describing what people can do if they think a child is at risk. It is a crucial feature of the Privacy Act that people can disclose personal information to prevent or lessen a serious risk or threat to another individual. This is especially the case with children because they are among the most vulnerable members of our community and society.

We published a case note in March 2019 about a law firm that demanded $19,000 from a former client for the cost of providing the client with his information. After investigating the complaint, the Privacy Commissioner concluded the cost of a USB stick was a reasonable cost, not the $19,000 charge. We wrote about that case here.

In healthcare settings, patients have a strong interest in knowing their privacy will be protected. Given that health information is often highly sensitive, in what circumstances is it reasonable for a health agency to disclose that information to others?