Douglas Shire Council will be celebrating Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) from May 3-9 this year.
We are committed to protecting and respecting personal information, while embedding a privacy-aware work culture. Everyone has the capacity to breach privacy and cause irreversible harm.
Community expectations about information privacy are high and increasing.
In 2020, 70% of Australians said they consider protection of their personal information to be a major concern in their life, while 83% want government to do more to protect the privacy of their data.
Privacy risks are evolving and need to be managed with care to protect the community from harm.
The broader right of ‘Privacy and reputation’ is also protected under the Human Rights Act 2019.
We are all facing challenges and competing priorities as we adjust to living in a world with COVID- 19.
This has led to greater online service delivery, interaction with family, friends, work colleagues and teachers, which can have many benefits. However, privacy and information security need to stay front of mind, and steps need to be taken to reduce the ongoing threat of human error.
PAW 2021 is a great reminder about the importance of protecting and respecting personal information, because if people and agencies don’t, the consequences can be significant and far-reaching. We are encouraging members of the community and our staff to ‘Make Privacy a Priority’ and value personal information through a better understanding of their privacy rights and responsibilities. An example is through staff awareness training where they learn about applying Queensland’s privacy regime to various aspects of their job.
PAW reminds us that in our day-to-day activities we need to make privacy a priority, especially in how we collect, use, store and share personal information. This is very important to us as we continue to deliver services, programs, infrastructure and support to the community.
After all, good privacy practices and transparency build greater trust and confidence with Queenslanders. PAW is an opportunity to think about the value of personal information and why it is worth protecting and promoting a culture that protects and respects individuals’ personal information.
For more information, view our Information Privacy Policy or access a range of helpful resources and tips by visiting the Office of the Information Commissioner’s website:
www.oic.qld.gov.au/training-and-events/privacy-awareness-week
