IPC Annual Report 2023/24 tabled in NSW Parliament
The Annual Report for 2023/2024 of the Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) was tabled in the Parliament of New South Wales on 21 October 2024.
As well as reporting on the operations and governance of the IPC, the report provides accountability to the NSW Parliament in respect of the exercise of the oversight and integrity functions of the two independent commissioners the IPC supports: the NSW Information Commissioner and the NSW Privacy Commissioner.
Highlights from the Report include:
- 52 mandatory breach notifications were made to the Privacy Commissioner
- two information access compliance audits under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) were finalised
- 658 information access and privacy reviews and complaints were finalised
- 560 information access and privacy advices were provided, to support compliance by agencies
- two new e-learning modules were released on the Mandatory Notification of Data Breach Scheme
- nine submissions about privacy and government information access and transparency were provided to external reviews and inquiries
- 3,123 enquiries from the public were dealt with
- there was a 32.7% increase in visits to the IPC’s website (ipc.nsw.gov.au)
- 21 new information access, privacy and corporate publications were released, and 41 publications were updated
- webforms were introduced for the public on the IPC’s website.
Digital transformation
Both the Information Commissioner and the Acting Privacy Commissioner have observed remarkable changes to the information access and privacy landscapes in NSW during the reporting year.
Information Commissioner, Rachel McCallum, said, “Both the Information and Acting Privacy Commissioners have appeared at a number of public inquiries and events this year to emphasise the need for legislation and practice to respond to the impacts of AI and other technologies on open government, information access and privacy in NSW.”
The Information Commissioner noted that, “the interaction between adopting new technologies and maintaining public sector integrity through information access rights and proactive transparency will continue to be a focus for the IPC over the next year.”
Acting Commissioner Sonia Minutillo added, “We can expect that the advancement of technology will not slow down, but rather accelerate and create new and even more complex privacy challenges.”
Both Commissioners noted that, “We are grateful to the small but dedicated team at the IPC for working hard during the year to support privacy and transparency in NSW public sector administration. We also acknowledge and commend the efforts of people working across the NSW public sector to champion transparency and privacy within their agencies and to their community stakeholders.”
The IPC Annual Report 2023/24 is available on the IPC website.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
The Manager, Communications and Corporate Affairs on 0435 961 691 or email communications@ipc.nsw.gov.au
About the Information and Privacy Commission:
The Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) is an independent integrity agency that supports the NSW Information Commissioner and the NSW Privacy Commissioner. Its vision is that privacy and access to government information are valued and protected n NSW. The Information Commissioner is the chief executive of the Commission.
About the NSW Information Commissioner
The NSW Information Commissioner’s statutory role includes promoting public awareness and understanding of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act); providing information, advice, assistance and training to agencies and the public; dealing with complaints about agencies; investigating agencies’ systems, policies and practices; and reporting on compliance with the GIPA Act.
The Government Information (Information Commissioner) Act 2009 (GIIC Act) establishes the procedures for appointing the Information Commissioner and sets out the Commissioner's powers and functions. It outlines the method for people to complain about the conduct of agencies when undertaking their duties under the GIPA Act, and the way in which the Information Commissioner may deal with the complaint. The GIIC Act also enables the Information Commissioner to investigate and report on how agencies carry out their functions under the GIPA Act.
About the NSW Privacy Commissioner
Ms Sonia Minutillo was appointed as the Acting Privacy Commissioner in February 2024. As Acting Privacy Commissioner, her role includes the promotion of public awareness and understanding of privacy rights in NSW, as well as providing information, support, advice and assistance to agencies and the public.
The Privacy Commissioner administers the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).
For further information about the IPC visit our website at www.ipc.nsw.gov.au
