What Is the Privacy Act and How Does It Apply to My Police Check?
Learn how the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) governs the handling of personal and sensitive information during police checks, ensuring lawful collection, transparency, limited use, controlled disclosure, and rights to access and correction.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) is the primary federal legislation governing the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in Australia. As an ACIC-accredited body, National Clearance Australia is bound by this Act and its 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
- Lawful collection: We may only collect information that is necessary for processing your application.
- Transparency: We must inform you of how your information is collected, used, and stored.
- Use limitation: Your criminal history information may only be used for the purpose for which it was collected.
- Disclosure controls: We cannot disclose your criminal history to a third party without your consent, except as required by law.
- Access and correction: You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and request corrections if it is inaccurate.
Criminal history is classified as sensitive information under the Privacy Act — it attracts heightened protection beyond ordinary personal information.
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