What does the 1988 Privacy Act mean to me?
The Commonwealth Government Privacy Act 1988 established
strict privacy safeguards, which Commonwealth Government agencies must
observe when collecting, storing, using and disclosing your personal
information.
In December 2000, the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act
2000 extended these safeguards to cover most private sector
organisations as well.
The Act contains a set of National
Privacy Principals.
For instance, an organisation must collect personal information only by
lawful and fair means, and take reasonable steps to protect it from
misuse or disclosure. The Principals give you a right to know what
information an organisation holds about you and a right to correct that
information if it is wrong.
The Principals
also state that an organisation collecting personal information must
make available to the public a document that clearly expresses its
policies on the management of that information.
If
you have any concerns about the way your personal details are handled
by a company, you can request a copy of their Privacy Policy. Most
commercial websites also have a Privacy Policy page. A link to the
Privacy Policy of MasterCard Australia is at the base of this page.
For more information on privacy, visit The Office Of The
Federal Privacy
Commissioner online.
