Cessnock City Council is championing Privacy Awareness Week 2020!
Published on 29 April 2020
Cessnock City Council is proud to support Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) NSW, which takes place from 4 to 10 May 2020.
PAW’s theme this year is Prevent, Detect and Protect and involves improving the understanding of NSW privacy legislation, and raises awareness of a person’s privacy rights and agency obligations. Council is committed to:
§ Prevent – Council is responsible for making sure the right processes are followed and correct procedures are in place for managing people’s personal information. This is achieved by adhering to specific policies and procedures.
§ Detect – agencies are encouraged to notify the Privacy Commissioner of any breaches to citizens' privacy. Council adheres to this guidance by regularly advising staff to be mindful of their privacy protection obligations and the need to voluntarily report data breaches that come to Council’s attention.
§ Protect – Council has an obligation to protect citizen’s privacy and help them be aware of and able to exercise their rights under NSW privacy legislation. Council’s Privacy Statement provides such relevant information.
Each individual has a right to privacy, and you have a right to access and amend your personal and health information held by NSW government agencies.
The Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) administers privacy legislation in NSW, the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).
Cessnock City Council’s Privacy Statement is designed to introduce policies and procedures to maximise compliance with the PPIP and HRIP Acts. In particular, it informs the community about how their personal information will be used, stored and accessed after it is collected.
Cessnock City Council’s General Manager, Lotta Jackson said the Privacy Statement informs both the community and Council staff.
“Once collected, Council staff know their obligations under the plan in relation to handling the personal information and when they can and can’t disclose, use or collect it.”
More information about Council’s Privacy Statement can be found on our website.
If you’d like to learn about privacy laws in NSW and how to protect your personal information and assert your rights, visit the IPC website. They can also assist you, should you have a complaint about a NSW government agency’s conduct or handling of your personal information.
Find out more about Privacy Awareness Week 2020 by visiting the IPC Privacy Awareness Week page.