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Why having a Privacy Officer is essential.

If you are a public or private sector organisation that deals with customer information our law recommends having at least one person who fulfils the role of Privacy Officer. 

In this blog, we detail their role, why having a Privacy Officer is essential and what your responsibilities are under the Privacy Act.

What is a Privacy Officer?

A Privacy Officer deals with all matters privacy-related, in addition, to overseeing privacy law compliance.

Personal information is data that you use to identify your customers. For example, this includes:

  • full names;
  • email addresses;
  • location data; and
  • payment details.

You have specific requirements covering how you handle each aspect of personal data collection.  A Privacy Officer makes sure you do this properly.

Privacy Officers can prevent or fix privacy issues before they become serious problems,  saving you money, or lost business.

If someone complains that your organisation has breached their privacy, your privacy officer can help resolve things quickly and effectively.

Who should be a Privacy Officer?

Anyone can be a Privacy Officer. You can also have more than one depending on the size of your business.

In smaller organisations, the Manager is normally responsible for all legal compliance, including privacy.

Large organisations may need one or more employees focusing exclusively on privacy matters.

Whoever takes on the duties of a Privacy Officer, it’s important for managers to take their advice seriously.

What next?

The Australian Government page is a great place to gain information and guidance for your company.

If you don’t have a Privacy Policy as yet or your current one is out of date we can help.

Request your complimentary review today.

Don’t leave it until it’s too late!  With a free consultation, we will:

Being based locally, we’re available to pop over to your office for a chat, happy to talk over the phone or meet via video call – you choose.

 

Fill in your details and we’ll be in touch within a day to arrange a suitable time.

Thank you to Legal Vision and the Australian Government for their content.