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26 November, 2019 | Nathan Tetzlaff
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner was created by the law to investigate privacy breaches, undertake prosecutions where appropriate, and generally provide education and other resources relating to privacy.
Somebody whose privacy has been breached does not need to prepare legal proceedings or hire a lawyer to ma ke a claim for them. They can simply contact the Privacy Commissioner who can do all the heavy-lifting.
Almost every person and business is covered by the Privacy Act, and should be particularly careful to ensure that they comply with its requirements. These requirements are fairly numerous and detailed, but not especially hard to meet providing that you exercise a little care and prior attention.
A complaint to the Privacy Commissioner is only the first step. If the Privacy Commissioner thinks that the situation is bad enough or if the individual is not satisfied with the result of the investigation, a claim may be made in the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
This should be concerning to you for a number of reasons; the two biggest reasons are that:
There are a lot of ways that you could breach the Privacy Act. One of the most common is by failing to respond to a request for information within the time limit.
If somebody requests access to their information you are required to provide copies of that information as soon as possible, but at least within 20 working days off the request.
If you don’t, this is something that could be the subject of a privacy complaint. While this is not necessarily terribly serious it does put you at a disadvantage and mean that you are in the position of having to explain yourself to a government agency.
Keeping ahead of privacy law is partly understanding your obligations, partly taking advance steps to ensure that you have privacy policies and procedures in place for your business, and partly responding to information requests or complaints in an appropriate way.
If you require assistance with any of these or have been contacted by the Privacy Commissioner about a complaint, we would be happy to consult with you to ensure that your business is not at risk. Contact our privacy law experts on 09 837 6840 to set up an appointment today.