Privacy Act 1988
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 13B — Related bodies corporate
Acts or practices that are not interferences with privacy (1) Despite subsection 13(1), each of the following acts or practices of an organisation that is a body corporate is not an interference with…
Section 13C — Change in partnership because of change in partners
Acts or practices that are not interferences with privacy (1) If: (a) an organisation (the new partnership) that is a partnership forms at the same time as, or immediately after, the dissolution of…
Section 13D — Overseas act required by foreign law
Acts or practices that are not interferences with privacy (1) An act or practice of an organisation done or engaged in outside Australia and an external Territory is not an interference with the…
Section 13E — Effect of sections 13B, 13C and 13D
Sections 13B, 13C and 13D do not prevent an act or practice of an organisation from being an interference with the privacy of an individual under subsection 13(2), (4) or (5).
Section 13F — Act or practice not covered by section 13 is not an interference with privacy
An act or practice that is not covered by section 13 is not an interference with the privacy of an individual.
Section 13G — Civil penalty provision for serious interference with privacy of an individual
Civil penalty provision (1) An entity contravenes this subsection if: (a) the entity does an act, or engages in a practice, that is an interference with the privacy of an individual; and (b) the…
Section 13H — Civil penalty provision for interference with privacy of individuals
Civil penalty provision (1) An entity contravenes this subsection if the entity does an act, or engages in a practice, that is an interference with the privacy of an individual. (2) Subsection (1) is…
Section 13J — Alternative orders
If, in proceedings for an order in relation to a contravention of section 13G, the court: (a) is satisfied that the entity has done an act, or engaged in a practice, that is an interference with the…
Section 13K — Civil penalty provision for which infringement notices or compliance notices can be issued
Civil penalty provision for breaching Australian Privacy Principles (1) An entity contravenes this subsection if: (a) the entity does an act, or engages in a practice; and (b) the act or practice…
Section 14 — When proceedings must be commenced
(1) The plaintiff must commence proceedings under this Schedule: (a) if the plaintiff was under 18 years of age when the invasion of privacy occurred—before the plaintiff’s 21st birthday; or (b)…
Section 15 — Journalists etc.
(1) This Schedule does not apply to an invasion of privacy by any of the following to the extent that the invasion of privacy involves the collection, preparation for publication or publication of…
Section 16 — Agencies and State and Territory authorities (other than intelligence agencies and law enforcement bodies)
This Schedule does not apply to an invasion of an individual’s privacy by an agency or a State or Territory authority (other than an intelligence agency or a law enforcement body) to the extent that…
Section 16A — Permitted general situations in relation to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information
(1) A permitted general situation exists in relation to the collection, use or disclosure by an APP entity of personal information about an individual, or of a government related identifier of an…
Section 16B — Permitted health situations in relation to the collection, use or disclosure of health information
Collection—provision of a health service (1) A permitted health situation exists in relation to the collection by an organisation of health information about an individual if: (a) the information is…
Section 16C — Acts and practices of overseas recipients of personal information
(1) This section applies if: (a) an APP entity discloses personal information about an individual to an overseas recipient; and (b) Australian Privacy Principle 8.1 applies to the disclosure of the…
Section 17 — Intelligence agencies
This Schedule does not apply to: (a) an invasion of privacy by an intelligence agency; or (aa) an invasion of privacy by a person who is an ASIO affiliate, or an agent or staff member of an…
Section 18 — File number recipients to comply with rules
A file number recipient shall not do an act, or engage in a practice, that breaches a rule issued under section 17.
Section 19 — Single publication rule
(1) This clause applies if: (a) a publisher publishes information that relates to an individual to the public (the first publication); and (b) the publisher or an associate of the publisher…
Section 20 — Deceased persons
(1) A person (including a personal representative of a deceased person) cannot assert, continue or enforce an action under this Schedule in relation to: (a) an invasion of the privacy of a deceased…
Section 20A — Application of this Division and the Australian Privacy Principles to credit reporting bodies
(1) This Division applies to a credit reporting body in relation to the following: (a) credit reporting information; (b) CP derived information; (c) credit reporting information that is…
Section 20ZA — Dealing with information if an Australian law etc. requires it to be retained
(1) This section applies if a credit reporting body is not required: (a) to do a thing referred to in subsection 20V(2) to credit information because of subsection 20V(4); or (b) to do a thing…
Section 20B — Open and transparent management of credit reporting information
(1) The object of this section is to ensure that credit reporting bodies manage credit reporting information in an open and transparent way. Compliance with this Division etc. (2) A credit reporting…
Section 20C — Collection of solicited credit information
Prohibition on collection (1) A credit reporting body must not collect credit information about an individual. Civil penalty: 2,000 penalty units. Exceptions (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the…
Section 20D — Dealing with unsolicited credit information
(1) If: (a) a credit reporting body receives credit information about an individual; and (b) the body did not solicit the information; the body must, within a reasonable period after receiving the…
Section 20E — Use or disclosure of credit reporting information
Prohibition on use or disclosure (1) If a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual, the body must not use or disclose the information. Civil penalty: 2,000 penalty…
Section 20F — Permitted CRB disclosures in relation to individuals
(1) A disclosure by a credit reporting body of credit reporting information about an individual is a permitted CRB disclosure in relation to the individual if: (a) the disclosure is to an entity that…
Section 20G — Use or disclosure of credit reporting information for the purposes of direct marketing
Prohibition on direct marketing (1) If a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual, the body must not use or disclose the information for the purposes of direct…
Section 20H — Use or disclosure of pre-screening assessments
Use or disclosure by credit reporting bodies (1) If a credit reporting body makes a pre-screening assessment in relation to direct marketing by, or on behalf of, a credit provider, the body must not…
Section 20J — Destruction of pre-screening assessment
(1) If an entity has possession or control of a pre-screening assessment, the entity must destroy the assessment if: (a) the entity no longer needs the assessment for any purpose for which it may be…
Section 20K — No use or disclosure of credit reporting information during a ban period
(1) If: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual; and (b) the individual believes on reasonable grounds that the individual has been, or is likely to be, a…
Section 20L — Adoption of government related identifiers
(1) If: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual; and (b) the information is a government related identifier of the individual; the body must not adopt the…
Section 20M — Use or disclosure of credit reporting information that is de-identified
Use or disclosure (1) If: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information; and (b) the information (the de-identified information) is de-identified; the body must not use or disclose…
Section 20N — Quality of credit reporting information
(1) A credit reporting body must take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the credit information the body collects is accurate, up-to-date and complete. (2) A credit…
Section 20P — False or misleading credit reporting information
Offence (1) A credit reporting body commits an offence if: (a) the body uses or discloses credit reporting information under this Division (other than subsections 20D(2) and 20T(4)); and (b) the…
Section 20Q — Security of credit reporting information
(1) If a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information, the body must take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to protect the information: (a) from misuse, interference and…
Section 20R — Access to credit reporting information
Access (1) If a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual, the body must, on request by an access seeker in relation to the information, give the access seeker…
Section 20S — Correction of credit reporting information
(1) If: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual; and (b) the body is satisfied that, having regard to a purpose for which the information is held by the…
Section 20T — Individual may request the correction of credit information etc.
Request (1) An individual may request a credit reporting body to correct personal information about the individual if: (a) the personal information is: (i) credit information about the individual; or…
Section 20U — Notice of correction etc. must be given
(1) This section applies if an individual requests a credit reporting body to correct personal information under subsection 20T(1). Notice of correction etc. (2) If the credit reporting body corrects…
Section 20V — Destruction etc. of credit reporting information after the retention period ends
(1) This section applies if: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit information about an individual; and (b) the retention period for the information ends. Note: There is no retention period for…
Section 20W — Retention period for credit information—general
The following table sets out the retention period for credit information: (a) that is information of a kind referred to in an item of the table; and (b) that is held by a credit reporting body.…
Section 20X — Retention period for credit information—personal insolvency information
(1) The following table has effect: Item If personal insolvency information relates to ... the retention period for the information is whichever of the following periods ends later ... 1 a bankruptcy…
Section 20Y — Destruction of credit reporting information in cases of fraud
(1) This section applies if: (a) a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual; and (b) the information relates to consumer credit that has been provided by a credit…
Section 20Z — Dealing with information if there is a pending correction request etc.
(1) This section applies if a credit reporting body holds credit reporting information about an individual and either: (a) subsection 20V(3) applies in relation to the information; or (b) subsection…
Section 21 — Guide to this Division
This Division sets out rules that apply to credit providers in relation to their handling of the following: (a) credit information; (b) credit eligibility information; (c) CRB derived information. If…
Section 21A — Application of this Division to credit providers
(1) This Division applies to a credit provider in relation to the following: (a) credit information; (b) credit eligibility information; (c) CRB derived information. (2) If the credit provider is an…
Section 21EA — Financial hardship information must be disclosed
If: (a) a credit provider discloses to a credit reporting body repayment history information about an individual in relation to a monthly payment under section 21D; and (b) financial hardship…
Section 21NA — Disclosures to certain persons and bodies that do not have an Australian link
Related bodies corporate and credit managers etc. (1) Before a credit provider discloses credit eligibility information under paragraph 21G(3)(b) or (c) to a related body corporate, or person, that…
Section 21B — Open and transparent management of credit information etc.
(1) The object of this section is to ensure that credit providers manage credit information and credit eligibility information in an open and transparent way. Compliance with this Division etc. (2) A…
Section 21C — Additional notification requirements for the collection of personal information etc.
(1) At or before the time a credit provider collects personal information about an individual that the provider is likely to disclose to a credit reporting body, the provider must: (a) notify the…