The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is using this week’s Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) to celebrate the 30th birthday of Australia’s Privacy Act 1988.
The OAIC said that for those old enough to remember what life was like 30 years ago, it was remarkable to consider how differently things were done today — and how technology now shaped everyday life.
“Communicating with friends, taking a photo, paying a bill, getting directions, shopping, renewing our car registration … the list is endless,” the OAIC said.
“Through many of these developments, the result has been an exponential increase in the amount of data and personal information collected, used, and shared, and the massive transferral of data on a global scale.”
It said that along with technology, people’s privacy expectations had evolved and the Privacy Act 1988 had also changed to reflect these expectations, while still supporting data sharing and innovation.
The OAIC asked people to imagine how different the world might be without having a set of rules to regulate how data was used and shared.
“The protection of personal information has never been more relevant,” it said.
“Since its conception, the Privacy Act 1988 has continued to evolve and has seen such initiatives as the introduction of the Australian Privacy Principles, the registration of the Credit Reporting Code and the commencement of the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme — to name just a few.”
The OAIC said the protection of consumer rights “is definitely worth celebrating”.
Privacy Awareness Week 2018 runs until Saturday (19 May) with the theme ‘From principles to practice’.
