Report of the Privacy Commissioner's under Section 61B of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998

View the Privacy Commissioner’s Report under Section 61B of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. 

NSW Privacy Commissioner Dr Elizabeth Coombs has tabled a report in Parliament under section 61B of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) for 2013 – 2014, which outlines how NSW privacy legislation has been operating and her recommendations for improvement.

“As Privacy Commissioner I’ve prepared a report on the operation of PPIP Act and provide advice on where privacy legislation is working well, where change is indicated, and emerging issues concerning safeguarding of the personal information of the people of NSW,” said Dr Coombs.

“Broadly, I believe the PPIP Act has stood the test of time well and continues to serve a valuable public policy purpose that has grown in relevance with the information age. Some amendment to the Act would assist to better protect the privacy of individuals and assist in the operation of public sector agencies. In addition, the report addresses administrative and personal actions that will assist achieve this goal.”

The report incorporates feedback from NSW public sector agencies, non-government organisations and, importantly from the NSW community on the privacy issues faced by individuals.

“An issue raised consistently across public sector agencies, non-government organisations, privacy practitioners and members of the public was the need for guidance from the Privacy Commissioner and the Commission. I acknowledge more assistance is required and the report’s directions form our ongoing privacy work program,” said Dr Coombs.

Key recommendations include protection of personal information moved outside NSW, alignment with Commonwealth privacy legislation, additional privacy components in sector wide policies such as the NSW Information Systems Management Systems Policy to cover cloud security and privacy, consistent privacy coverage for customers of NSW State Owned Corporations, facilitating new service provision models while protecting individual privacy, and resourcing for the privacy work undertaken by the Commission.

“This report examines how the state’s privacy legislation is operating and a way forward to improve the protection of personal information and privacy,” said Dr Coombs.

Dr Coombs is available for interviews to discuss privacy issues and the outcomes of the report. Please contact the IPC on 0435 961 691 or email ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au to make your media request.

For more information on the IPC and to view the report, please visit www.ipc.nsw.gov.au