First members appointed to NSW Information and Privacy Advisory Committee

Media release

Media release – First members appointed to NSW Information and Privacy Advisory Committee (PDF, 51kb)

New South Wales’ inaugural advisory committee on right to information and privacy matters has welcomed its founding members, Information Commissioner Deirdre O’Donnell announced today.

Four non-government experts had been appointed as part-time members of the Information and Privacy Advisory Committee (IPAC), established to advise on matters relating to the functions of the state’s Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, Ms O’Donnell said.

“This committee represents a significant milestone for privacy and information access issues in NSW,” Ms O’Donnell said. “The IPAC will provide expert advice on matters of privacy and access to government information.”

The committee will advise the NSW Information Commissioner and Dr Elizabeth Coombs, the NSW Privacy Commissioner on privacy and information access matters. The Attorney General also has the capacity to refer issues to the committee.

The first members appointed to the IPAC are:

• Ms Teresa Corbin, whose career has been in consumer advocacy in a range of areas. Ms Corbin has worked closely with State and Commonwealth Governments on protecting the rights of the consumer and advocating freedom of information.
• Ms Angela Green, who has a career as a senior professional in the banking and finance sector, and was previously the first Chief Privacy Officer of the National Australia Bank. Ms Green has also worked in management consulting and for several public sector departments.
• Mr Doug Peiffer, whose career in the field of market research has focused on consumer habits and activities, and collecting information on television ratings. Mr Peiffer has also had experience in the tracking of consumer behaviour on the internet.
• Mr Peter Timmins, a former senior public servant and currently a lawyer and advocate for freedom of informati on. Mr Timmins was instrumental in the establishment of the framework for the NSW Government in dealing with FOI, providing training and advice to a wide variety of agencies and members of the public.

Ms O’Donnell said the IPAC would also include two part-time senior public sector officers, in addition to the four non-government members, the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner. The selection process for the public sector members is presently underway.

The following people have been appointed as deputy members:

• Mr Bruce Mansfield, whose background is in information technology, specifically credit cards and electronic funds transfers. Mr Mansfield possesses extensive experience in dealing with the privacy issues that arise for the vast number of consumers using these methods for financial transactions.
• Ms Julie Ann Priest, a senior consultant and executive working in the information technology sector. Ms Priest’s experience covers a variety of areas including security, governance, risk, privacy and FOI.
• Ms Samantha Yorke, whose career has been as a corporate counsel with particular focus on information technology. She has a wealth of experience and depth of knowledge of the privacy issues related to social media at both national and international levels.

The IPAC will meet three to four times a year, with its first meeting expected to be held after Easter, following the appoint ment of the two remaining members.

“The first priorities for the IPAC will be to provide advice to NSW Privacy Commissioner Dr Elizabeth Coombs and me on the implications of new technologies, records management, and information governance practices as these relate to access to government information and the protection of privacy,”Ms O’Donnell said.

The IPAC was established under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and replaces the former Privacy Advisory Committee.

For more information on the NSW Information and Privacy Commission, visit: www.ipc.nsw.gov.au or call 1800 472 679.