Privacy Awareness Week NSW takes place this year from 2 – 8 May and involves both public sector agencies and citizens to improve understanding and awareness of NSW privacy legislation, and to raise awareness of a person’s privacy rights and agency obligations.
The Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) hosts the campaign in NSW and this year marks the twelfth year of celebrating Privacy Awareness Week NSW. The 2022 theme is ‘Privacy: The foundation of trust – we all have a role to play’.
The Privacy Commissioner, Samantha Gavel, said this year’s theme encompasses the shared responsibility of citizens and agencies in ensuring that citizens are actively taking measures to review their privacy settings and keep their information secure. ‘Agencies need to continue to proactively build on their privacy practices to effectively handle and protect citizens’ personal information.’
Insights and lessons
To celebrate Privacy Awareness Week NSW 2022, the Privacy Commissioner is hosting the event Insights and lessons – Preparing for MNDB to assist NSW public sector agencies to prepare for the upcoming Mandatory Notification Data Breach Scheme (MNDB).
The event will be opened by the Attorney General, the Hon. Mark Speakman SC MP, and feature a range of public and private sector speakers, including; Prof. Lyria Bennett Moses, UNSW; Dr David Lacey, IDCARE; Scott Johnston, Deputy Secretary Revenue NSW; Kate Watts, Transport for NSW; Sonia Minutillo, IPC; and facilitated by Martin Stewart-Weeks, Public Purpose.
NSW Privacy Commissioner, Samantha Gavel, said that with the introduction of the MNDB Scheme, it is important that agencies are aware of the unique challenges that may arise and begin to consider the implications of the scheme for their privacy practices. It is encouraging that there has been high interest in this event and that agencies are taking a proactive approach to their preparation. I am looking forward to hearing from our speakers who will share their diverse insights to assist agencies in preparing for the upcoming MNDB Scheme.’
NSW privacy legislation
This year, the IPC has released easy to understand resources for citizens to learn more about their rights under NSW privacy legislation. The resources include an animation about the 12 Information Protection Principles under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act), and an animation on the 15 Health Privacy Principles under the Health Records Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).
For agencies, the IPC has launched a new Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Questionnaire. This tool is intended to assist with considering the privacy impacts of any website that involves the handling of personal information or de-identified information. It is a collaboration between the IPC and elevenM, to support NSW public sector agencies in assessing their websites for privacy risks and identifying remediation actions. The tool has been developed to bring best-practice approaches and methodologies to NSW public sector agencies but does not replace a complete PIA. It should only be used to assist in identifying the privacy risks and areas for remedial action.
The Commissioner said the public expects that organisations that collect their personal information use it appropriately and keep it secure. ‘The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Questionnaire helps agencies to embed a privacy-by-design approach and assess whether their websites comply with NSW privacy legislation. It can be used in conjunction with a PIA to identify key privacy risks and areas for remedial action.
Personal and health information
‘The IPC’s new citizen resources will enable the public to learn more about how their personal and health information should be handled by NSW public sector agencies, and encourage them to report privacy breaches to the agency. This will also assist agencies in reporting and managing these breaches, and minimising harm to individuals.
‘Every individual has a right to privacy and the IPC can help citizens understand privacy laws in NSW and provide information on how to protect their personal information and assert their privacy rights.’
More information, including activities and resources on privacy rights in NSW, are available on the Privacy Awareness Week NSW 2022 website.
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