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Privacy Awareness Week 2026
Trust is built here.
In every privacy complaint. In every resolution.
Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an annual initiative that promotes awareness of privacy rights and responsibilities and the importance of protecting personal information.
This year PAW was held from 4-10 May 2026 and the theme Trust is built here. In every privacy complaint. In every resolution, focused on strengthening privacy dispute resolution practices and building public confidence in how personal information is handled.
Support Privacy Awareness Week
PAW is delivered nationally by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in conjunction with state and territory privacy regulators and the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum. This reflects a coordinated effort to strengthen privacy capability and awareness across Australia and the region.
Signing your organisation on as a PAW supporter demonstrates your commitment to promoting good privacy practices and uplifting privacy dispute resolution processes.
PAW 2026 has come to an end, so we have opened registrations for 2027. PAW 2027 Supporters will be the first to receive updates on PAW dates, theme, activities and available resources. Note: you will receive notifications closer to the date in 2027.
Privacy in Australia
Privacy is protected in Australia, and internationally, with a range of laws. At the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, we mainly deal with issues covered by the Privacy Act 1988 – a federal law.
Dispute resolution is where privacy obligations are operationalised. It is the point at which individuals’ rights under the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) are tested in practice.
Most Australian states and territories have equivalent legislation which covers their public sector agencies. Some state authorities and instrumentalities are bound by the Privacy Act.
Privacy complaint checklist
Effective dispute resolution supports timely outcomes, strengthens governance and builds public confidence.
Poor complaint handling can erode trust and increase regulatory risk.
Through this campaign, privacy practitioners, complaint handlers and leaders are encouraged to uplift dispute resolution practices by reinforcing key obligations, improving communication and decision-making, and using complaints as an insight to strengthen systems and processes.
Good privacy complaints handling practices can result in improved commercial interests and even extended benefits, such as customer satisfaction, retention, staff satisfaction, customer lifetime value or even product improvements.
For public organisations, effective dispute resolution can result in increased trust in institutions and enhanced perceptions of fairness and equity.
This Privacy Awareness Week, the OAIC released a privacy complaints checklist to assist organisations to be prepared in handling privacy complaints – encouraging disputes be resolved at the level that is most efficient and effective for the consumer and the organisation.
Our supporters
Each year, leading Australian organisations and government agencies support and participate in Privacy Awareness Week. Signing up as a supporter is a great way for organisations to show their commitment to good privacy practices.
If your organisation is not in a position to sign up, there are still a variety of ways of getting involved such as attending Privacy Awareness Week events, sharing social posts and using some of our toolkit materials in your workplace.
