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News and media
RSS feedIn this section you will find current news from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
For media enquiries and interview requests please contact media@oaic.gov.au or call 0407 663 968.
Follow the OAIC on social media for more updates:
The well-considered proposals put forward in the Attorney General’s Department’s Privacy Act Review Discussion Paper present a sound basis for advancing the case of privacy reform in Australia, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) said.In its response to the Discussion Paper, the OAIC has made detailed recommendations which ...
17 December 2021
Download our 2021 highlights infographicLong text descriptionIn 2021 the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner worked to increase public trust and confidence in the protection of personal information and access to government-held information.Encourage and support proactive release of government information:Developed FOI capabilities through new resources, guidelines, reports and information sessionsReleased ...
16 December 2021
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk has determined that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) failed to comply with its privacy obligations in using the Clearview AI facial recognition tool.Commissioner Falk found the AFP failed to complete a privacy impact assessment (PIA) before using the tool, in breach of ...
23 November 2021
An audit of the big four banks has found they are generally handling consumer data under the Consumer Data Right in an open and transparent way with good privacy practices in place.As co-regulator of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) system, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is proactively ...
3 November 2021
3 November 2021The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) opened a joint investigation into the personal information handling practices of Clearview AI Inc in July 2020.The investigation focused on the company’s use of data scraped from the internet and the use of ...
3 November 2021
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk has found that Clearview AI, Inc. breached Australians’ privacy by scraping their biometric information from the web and disclosing it through a facial recognition tool.The determination follows a joint investigation by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the UK’s ...
28 October 2021
What we didIn July 2020, six data protection and privacy authorities from Australia, Canada, Gibraltar, Hong Kong SAR, China, Switzerland and the United Kingdom jointly signed an open letter to video teleconferencing (VTC) companies. The letter highlighted concerns about whether privacy safeguards were keeping pace with the rapid increase in ...
25 October 2021
Higher penalties to help protect Australians’ privacyHigher penalties outlined in draft legislation released by the Australian Government today will align privacy and consumer law penalties and help address serious privacy risks to the community, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) said.Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk ...
News and media
In this section you will find current news from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
For media enquiries and interview requests please contact media@oaic.gov.au or call 0407 663 968.
Follow the OAIC on social media for more updates:
14 October 2021
The OAIC has found that 7-Eleven interfered with customers’ privacy by collecting sensitive biometric information that was not reasonably necessary for its functions and without adequate notice or consent.
Tags: news
7 September 2021
An article by Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk, published by The Australian on 15 August 2021.
Tags: news
The latest Notifiable Data Breaches Report highlights how the OAIC expects entities to prevent and respond to data breaches caused by ransomware and impersonation fraud.
Tags: media releaseNotifiable Data Breaches scheme
6 August 2021
The OAIC is investigating Singtel Optus Pty Ltd (Optus) over data breaches involving publication of Optus customer details in the White Pages.
Tags: statement
6 August 2021
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk has been reappointed for another 3-year term, to August 2024.
Tags: statement
23 July 2021
The OAIC has determined that Uber Technologies, Inc. and Uber B.V. interfered with the privacy of an estimated 1.2 million Australians.
Tags: media release
The International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) has endorsed an OAIC resolution to support the proactive publication of information relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tags: FOIaccess to information
17 June 2021
The OAIC has released its second six-month report on the privacy protections that apply to the COVIDSafe system.
Tags: media releaseCOVIDSafe
The OAIC welcomes additional funding for privacy and access to information functions announced in the 2021-22 Federal Budget.
Tags: statement