Your rights

A woman stands with a headset on. She has brown hair pulled back and glasses. She is wearing a grey jersey that has a rolled neck. We review all the complaints we receive. We know it can be a stressful time when your privacy is breached so if we can resolve your complaint quickly, we will.

If your case requires a complicated or comprehensive investigation, then owing to high volumes, the wait time for an investigator is up to six months.

While we’re investigating, we look for opportunities to resolve the issues in a way that’s acceptable to both sides of the dispute.

We are impartial, do not take sides, and are independent of the Government. We won’t forget you but it can take some time to get things clear so we can act.

We will tell you if we’re going to investigate your complaint

If we decide to investigate, we’ll determine which principles of the Privacy Act may have been breached and how. We will then let you and the agency concerned know that we are investigating your complaint.

How we gather information about the complaint

We conduct investigations by talking to everyone who is involved. We might gather information by telephone, email, or letter.

We may ask you and the agency to provide us with documents and information about the complaint, but we will not pass on any correspondence between the parties. Both parties (the people in the complaint) need to be able to speak to us openly for our investigations to be effective.

We may also ask you to meet with the agency to discuss the complaint.

What we’re looking for during an investigation

During an investigation we can form a view about whether the agency’s actions have interfered with your privacy under the Privacy Act. If we’ve formed a view against one party, we’ll give them the chance to respond.

We give a chance to respond because we want to help everyone understand how we see the complaint, and to help everyone work towards a solution. Our view isn’t legally binding.

Deciding – how long does that take?

We don’t make rulings or determinations. However, our view is an important indication of whether there’s been an interference with privacy. We close most investigations within six months but occasionally they take longer depending on the individual circumstances.

Settling the complaint

Our focus is on resolving disputes. Where we can, we will encourage the settlement of a complaint even if we don't investigate it.

We use an alternative dispute resolution system call conciliation, which follows a similar process to mediation. A conciliation conference can take place in person, on the phone, or via video conference.

What happens if we can’t settle the complaint?

If we cannot settle the complaint and we decide not to investigate further, we will advise the parties of our view and close our investigation file. You might have the option of taking your case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.

In some exceptional circumstances, we may refer your case to the Director of Human Rights Proceedings, who can bring the case before the Tribunal. The Director is independent from our Office.