The Information Privacy Principles

What do the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) do ?

There are 11 IPPs in the Privacy Act.  The IPPs:

• regulate the way government agencies collect, store, use and disclose information about people;

• allow people access to information agencies keep about them; and

• allow people to request changes to this information.

What Information is included ?

The IPPs and the Privacy Act cover only personal information.  This is information or opinions that can identify a living person. Personal information is defined in the Privacy Act as:

“information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion...”

Clearly, a document need not say the person's name in order to amount to personal information.  It will be personal information if the person can be identified from the information.

Example: If a document, such as an OHS Investigation Report contains information about the person's position in an agency and the office in which they work, it contains personal information for the purposes of the Privacy Act.

Information about a deceased person is not technically personal information, however, the sensitivities of family members should be respected when using or disclosing it.

The Information Privacy Principles

Table of the IPPs