The laws and standards that apply

A hand writing on a paper with a name crossed out.

Personal information includes things, like your name and address.

Two people shaking hands. A document that says, ' Share', and a checklist.

People who work for the government keep this information to help them to do their job.

People who work for the government share data to make the data asset.

A rules book.

A laws book. A person with their finger on their mouth, and the word, 'Private'. A green tick.

A map of Australia. A laws book. A green tick.

They need to follow rules and laws to keep data safe, like:

  • the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles
  • Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 (also called the DATA Scheme)
  • state and territory laws.

Two people shaking hands. A document that says, ' Share', and a checklist.

The DATA Scheme makes sure data is shared in a safe way.

A rules book. A certificate. An approved stamp.

The DATA Scheme says that any organisation that wants to collect and use Australian Government data must get a certificate. It says they have the right skills and rules to collect and store the data.

A person holding a document that says, 'A B S, A I H W'. A green tick. An approved stamp.

The ABS and AIHW have this certificate.

The certificate says they are an ‘Accredited Data Service Provider’.

A laptop with the word, 'click' on the screen.

A small number of Accredited Data Service Providers from government will do work to make the data asset in the computer system, like linking data together.

Data breaches

A laptop with the text, Name, Address, Phone, and Medical information and an unlocked padlock on the screen.

The data asset protects people’s personal information. A data breach is when data or private information is shared when it should not be or is stolen from a secure computer system.

A hand writing on a paper that says, R J Smith. A silhouette of a dangerous person with a red line through it. A person looking scared.

A person looking down. Another person looking at them, thinking.

It is unlikely that a data breach would happen or that a person would be in danger from their information being shared in the wrong way.

If this did happen, the person must be told by the ABS or the government group that provided the data.

A person at a computer, talking on the phone.

The ABS or the government group that provided the data must also tell:

A person with their finger to their mouth signalling for things to be kept private

A person on a laptop.
  • the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner who is the national group that works on privacy and information access rights
  • the National Data Commissioner
  • other people or groups, like state and territory groups that work on privacy and information rights.

A laws book. A red cross.

If people do not follow the law when they use the data asset and computer system they might:

A person giving another person a warning.

A person pulling cash out of their wallet.

A person behind prison bars.
  • get a warning about not doing it again
  • not be allowed to use the data asset any more
  • have to pay a fine of up to $187,800. A fine is when you have to pay money for breaking the law
  • go to prison for up to 5 years
  • pay a fine and go to prison.