Privacy Act 1988
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Australian Privacy Principle 1—open and transparent management of personal information
1.1 The object of this principle is to ensure that APP entities manage personal information in an open and transparent way. Compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles etc. 1.2 An APP entity…
Section 2 — Simplified outline of this Schedule
This Schedule establishes a cause of action in tort for serious invasions of privacy. An individual has a cause of action against another person if, among other things, the other person invaded the…
Section 2A — Objects of this Act
(1) The objects of this Act are: (a) to promote the protection of the privacy of individuals with respect to their personal information; and (aa) to recognise the public interest in protecting…
Section 3 — Australian Privacy Principle 3—collection of solicited personal information
Personal information other than sensitive information 3.1 If an APP entity is an agency, the entity must not collect personal information (other than sensitive information) unless the information is…
Section 3A — Application of the Criminal Code
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code (except Part 2.5) applies to all offences against this Act. Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
Section 4 — Australian Privacy Principle 4—dealing with unsolicited personal information
4.1 If: (a) an APP entity receives personal information; and (b) the entity did not solicit the information; the entity must, within a reasonable period after receiving the information, determine…
Section 5 — Australian Privacy Principle 5—notification of the collection of personal information
5.1 At or before the time or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable after, an APP entity collects personal information about an individual, the entity must take such steps (if any) as…
Section 5A — Extension to external Territories
(1) This Act extends to all external Territories. (2) This section does not apply to Schedule 2.
Section 5B — Extra-territorial operation of Act
Agencies (1) This Act, a registered APP code and the registered CR code extend to an act done, or practice engaged in, outside Australia and the external Territories by an agency. Note: The act or…
Section 6 — Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: ACC means the Australian Crime Commission. access seeker has the meaning given by subsection 6L(1). ACT enactment has the same meaning as…
Section 6A — Breach of an Australian Privacy Principle
(1) For the purposes of this Act, an act or practice breaches an Australian Privacy Principle if, and only if, it is contrary to, or inconsistent with, that principle. No breach—contracted service…
Section 6AA — Meaning of responsible person
(1) A responsible person for an individual is: (a) a parent of the individual; or (b) a child or sibling of the individual if the child or sibling is at least 18 years old; or (c) a spouse or de…
Section 6BA — Breach of the registered CR code
For the purposes of this Act, an act or practice breaches the registered CR code if, and only if, it is contrary to, or inconsistent with, the code.
Section 6DA — What is the annual turnover of a business?
What is the annual turnover of a business for a financial year? (1) The annual turnover of a business for a financial year is the total of the following that is earned in the year in the course of…
Section 6EA — Small business operators choosing to be treated as organisations
(1) This Act applies in relation to a small business operator as if the operator were an organisation while a choice by the operator to be treated as an organisation is registered under this section.…
Section 6FA — Meaning of health information
The following information is health information: (a) information or an opinion about: (i) the health, including an illness, disability or injury, (at any time) of an individual; or (ii) an…
Section 6QA — Meanings of financial hardship arrangement and financial hardship information
Financial hardship arrangement (1) If: (a) a credit provider provides consumer credit to an individual; and (b) the National Credit Code applies to the provision of the credit; and (c) the individual…
Section 6B — Breach of a registered APP code
Breach if contrary to, or inconsistent with, code (1) For the purposes of this Act, an act or practice breaches a registered APP code if, and only if, it is contrary to, or inconsistent with, the…
Section 6FB — Meaning of health service
(1) An activity performed in relation to an individual is a health service if the activity is intended or claimed (expressly or otherwise) by the individual or the person performing it: (a) to…
Section 6C — Organisations
What is an organisation? (1) In this Act: organisation means: (a) an individual; or (b) a body corporate; or (c) a partnership; or (d) any other unincorporated association; or (e) a trust; that is…
Section 6D — Small business and small business operators
What is a small business? (1) A business is a small business at a time (the test time) in a financial year (the current year) if its annual turnover for the previous financial year is $3,000,000 or…
Section 6E — Small business operator treated as organisation
Small business operator that is a reporting entity (1A) If a small business operator is a reporting entity or an authorised agent of a reporting entity because of anything done in the course of a…
Section 6F — State instrumentalities etc. treated as organisations
Regulations treating a State instrumentality etc. as an organisation (1) This Act applies, with the prescribed modifications (if any), in relation to a prescribed State or Territory authority or a…
Section 6G — Meaning of credit provider
General (1) Each of the following is a credit provider: (a) a bank; (b) an organisation or small business operator if: (i) the organisation or operator carries on a business or undertaking; and (ii)…
Section 6H — Agents of credit providers
(1) If an organisation or small business operator (the agent) is acting as an agent of a credit provider (the principal) in performing, on behalf of the principal, a task that is reasonably…
Section 6J — Securitisation arrangements etc.
(1) If: (a) an organisation or small business operator (the securitisation entity) carries on a business that is involved in either or both of the following: (i) a securitisation arrangement; (ii)…
Section 6K — Acquisition of the rights of a credit provider
(1) If: (a) an organisation or small business operator (the acquirer) acquires, whether by assignment, subrogation or any other means, the rights of a credit provider (the original credit provider)…
Section 6L — Meaning of access seeker
(1) An access seeker in relation to credit reporting information, or credit eligibility information, about an individual is: (a) the individual; or (b) a person: (i) who is assisting the individual…
Section 6M — Meaning of credit and amount of credit
(1) Credit is a contract, arrangement or understanding under which: (a) payment of a debt owed by one person to another person is deferred; or (b) one person incurs a debt to another person and…
Section 6N — Meaning of credit information
Credit information about an individual is personal information (other than sensitive information) that is: (a) identification information about the individual; or (b) consumer credit liability…
Section 6P — Meaning of credit reporting business
(1) A credit reporting business is a business or undertaking that involves collecting, holding, using or disclosing personal information about individuals for the purpose of, or for purposes…
Section 6Q — Meaning of default information
Consumer credit defaults (1) Default information about an individual is information about a payment (including a payment that is wholly or partly a payment of interest) that the individual is overdue…
Section 6R — Meaning of information request
Credit provider (1) A credit provider has made an information request in relation to an individual if the provider has sought information about the individual from a credit reporting body: (a) in…
Section 6S — Meaning of new arrangement information
Consumer credit defaults (1) If: (a) a credit provider has disclosed default information about an individual to a credit reporting body; and (b) the default information relates to a payment that the…
Section 6T — Meaning of payment information
If: (a) a credit provider has disclosed default information about an individual to a credit reporting body; and (b) on a day after the default information was disclosed, the amount of the overdue…
Section 6U — Meaning of personal insolvency information
(1) Personal insolvency information about an individual is information: (a) that is entered or recorded in the National Personal Insolvency Index; and (b) that relates to: (i) a bankruptcy of the…
Section 6V — Meaning of repayment history information
(1) If a credit provider provides consumer credit to an individual, the following information about the consumer credit is repayment history information about the individual: (a) whether or not the…
Section 7 — Acts and practices of agencies, organisations etc.
(1) Except so far as the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act (other than section 8) to an act or to a practice is a reference to: (a) an act done, or a practice engaged in, as the…
Section 7A — Acts of certain agencies treated as acts of organisation
(1) This Act applies, with the prescribed modifications (if any), in relation to an act or practice described in subsection (2) or (3) as if: (a) the act or practice were an act done, or practice…
Section 7B — Exempt acts and exempt practices of organisations
Individuals in non-business capacity (1) An act done, or practice engaged in, by an organisation that is an individual is exempt for the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(ee) if the act is done, or the…
Section 7C — Political acts and practices are exempt
Members of a Parliament etc. (1) An act done, or practice engaged in, by an organisation (the political representative) consisting of a member of a Parliament, or a councillor (however described) of…
Section 8 — Australian Privacy Principle 8—cross-border disclosure of personal information
8.1 Before an APP entity discloses personal information about an individual to a person (the overseas recipient): (a) who is not in Australia or an external Territory; and (b) who is not the entity…
Section 8A — Determination whether exemption applies
(1) The court may, at any stage of the proceedings, determine whether an exemption in Part 3 applies in relation to the invasion of privacy. (2) The court may make the determination on application of…
Section 9 — Australian Privacy Principle 9—adoption, use or disclosure of government related identifiers
Adoption of government related identifiers 9.1 An organisation must not adopt a government related identifier of an individual as its own identifier of the individual unless: (a) the adoption of the…
Section 10 — Agencies that are taken to hold a record
(4) Where: (a) a record of personal information (not being a record relating to the administration of the National Archives of Australia) is in the care (within the meaning of the Archives Act 1983)…
Section 11 — File number recipients
(1) A person who is (whether lawfully or unlawfully) in possession or control of a record that contains tax file number information shall be regarded, for the purposes of this Act, as a file number…
Section 12 — Australian Privacy Principle 12—access to personal information
Access 12.1 If an APP entity holds personal information about an individual, the entity must, on request by the individual, give the individual access to the information. Exception to access—agency…
Section 12A — Act not to apply in relation to State banking or insurance within that State
Where, but for this section, a provision of this Act: (a) would have a particular application; and (b) by virtue of having that application, would be a law with respect to, or with respect to matters…
Section 12B — Severability—additional effect of this Act
(1) Without limiting its effect apart from this section, this Act has effect in relation to the following (the regulated entities) as provided by this section: (a) an agency; (b) an organisation; (c)…
Section 13 — Interferences with privacy
APP entities (1) An act or practice of an APP entity is an interference with the privacy of an individual if: (a) the act or practice breaches an Australian Privacy Principle in relation to personal…