The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) undertakes the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey every few years.

The 2023 survey demonstrates the increasing privacy awareness, expectations and concerns of the Australian public.

These results highlight the importance of ensuring the University handles personal information in accordance with the ANU Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), to build and maintain the confidence of the ANU community.

If you would like to discuss how your processes or projects handle personal information, please contact the ANU Privacy Office.

Key findings from the OAIC:

Source: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Any individual, including students and staff, may make a privacy complaint to the University, if they feel the University has improperly handled their personal information.

It is important that individuals are supported to make a complaint, so the ANU Privacy Officer may review their concerns and take any appropriate action.

If staff receive a privacy complaint, they should provide the complainant with the ANU Privacy Policy and advise them to contact the ANU Privacy Office.

How to make a privacy complaint:

1. Complaints must be made in writing to the ANU Privacy Officer:
   Via email privacy@anu.edu.au; or
   Physical mail to
   Senior Privacy Officer
   JB Chifley Library
   The Australian National University
   Canberra ACT 2601
2. Complaints must outline how the individual believes the University has breached their privacy.
3. The scope of complaints must be limited to a breach of the ANU Privacy Policy and/or the Australian Privacy Principles

The ANU Privacy Officer will review all complaints. Complainants will be notified of the proposed response within 30 days. Where complainants are not satisfied with the decision, they may complain to the OAIC.

The ANU Privacy Officer would like to recognise the increased awareness of privacy on campus.

Thank you to all staff for your diligence and timely action in reporting privacy concerns and for consideration of appropriate privacy practices in your work. Your efforts ensure that ANU can meet its obligations and that we can best protect the personal information of the ANU community.

Reporting privacy breaches:

If you believe that a privacy breach may have occurred, please report the matter to the ANU Privacy Officer, for review. No issue is too small and we welcome reports on any privacy matter.

Please provide as much information as possible, such as:

• time and date the known or suspected breach was discovered
• type of personal information involved
• cause and extent of the breach.

The Privacy Officer will determine if a breach has occurred and support local areas to respond to any breaches. Together, we can work to address any privacy impacts.

The Privacy Office has launched a new look Privacy@ANU SharePoint site, designed to make it easier for staff to find what they need.

The site will be updated regularly with privacy news, detailed advice, updates on privacy legislation and new decisions from the OAIC.