Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an annual event to raise awareness of privacy issues and the importance of protecting personal information, run by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. PAW 2023 will be held from Monday 1 May to Sunday 7 May, and this yearβs theme is βBack to Basicsβ. We have a range of services to help your organisation understand and comply with privacy law.
FREE RESOURCES:
Our Privacy Guide helps your organisation understand and comply with Australian privacy law. Our guide outlines:
- what information is covered by privacy law and who is covered by privacy laws
- sources of privacy laws and exemptions
- obligations under privacy law including consent, notification, and storing personal information and compliance
- privacy policies, and
- fundraising and privacy.
Alongside our Privacy Guide, we have fact sheets covering the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme and cyber security.
TRAINING:
Understanding privacy and data laws is the responsibility of everyone in your organisation, from board members to employees and volunteers. In our training session, youβll get a comprehensive introduction to privacy and data laws that apply to not-for-profits. Our lawyers will walk you through the personal information lifecycle: from collection of data, through to use and disclosure, storage and access, and finally complaints and the data breach notification laws.
Contact us to book in a training session for your organisation.
NEWS:
Changes are coming to Australian privacy laws. The Federal Governmentβs report on its review of the Privacy Act includes 116 proposed improvements to the law. Read our summary of some key proposed changes to the Privacy Act that affect not-for-profits.
Australian Securities & Investments Commision (ASIC) has released a report providing insights for organisations when designing programs or frameworks to manage whistleblowing in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001. The report details the findings of its review into good practices for handling whistleblower disclosures. Your organisation may like to review its whistleblower policies considering ASICβs guidance.
You can find more information about whistleblower protection laws and not-for-profits in our fact sheet.
A referendum disclosure scheme has been introduced through changes to the Commonwealth Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984. The Australian Electoral Commission has published guidance on its website, and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has released information about how this requirement may affect charities. The changes will apply to the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
If your organisation provided fringe benefits to your employees (or associates) between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, it's time to lodge and pay your fringe benefits tax (FBT) return. The Australian Taxation Office has provided instructions for completing your 2023 FBT return, including examples. We also have resources on our website to help your organisation understand its obligations.