Information Commissioner releases Annual Report
November 1, 2024
It is a annual report season for Government agencies and authorities. And that includes that of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.Yesterday the Commissioner released its 194 page Annual Report for 2023 – 24.
Given the significant amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 it is better to look forward to how the Privacy Commissioner approaches her responsibilities with new found powers rather than poring over the activities of the Privacy Commissioner over the past year. On that note the work rate improved but it remained a timid regulator by any measure. Which is a pity given the the Information Commissioner’s remuneration was $576,174 and Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Hampton was $380,091. The relatively newly appointed Privacy Commissioner, Carly Kind is on $109,239.
In relation to privacy complaints the the Commissioner stated:
Privacy has been very much in the spotlight, with the continuing incidence of major data breaches. In 2023–24, we received 13% more notifications under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme than the year prior, when there was a 4% increase. We lifted our response rate, closing 84% of notifications within 60 days (compared to 77% last reporting year). In the 2022–23 financial year we received a 34% increase in privacy complaints. This year, complaints have remained relatively high, with a slight decrease of 5% year on year. We successfully responded to this high demand, finalising 20% more privacy complaints (3,104 in total), building on last year’s increase of 17% (2,576 finalised in total).
We continued our focus on clearing longer-standing, generally more complex and resource-intensive complaints, finalising 84% (271) of the 322 matters that were over 12 months old as at June 2023. At the same time, more recent complaints increased in age over the reporting period. The volume of complaints, combined with the focus on the longest-standing, meant that by the year’s end there was an overall increase in matters older than 12 months to 729. The OAIC will continue to focus on aging cases through process efficiencies and the strategic application of resources.
What is quite unusual is that Read the rest of this entry »