There are some things in life you and your clients just don’t want shouted from the rooftops or shared on social media, such as credit card or passport numbers, weight, visits to the GP, or the number of alcohol units consumed per week.

And quite rightly so.

Just because some busybody knows things about you that you or your clients shared in confidence doesn’t give them the right to tell everyone (or even anyone) else in the world. Or does it?

Are you a busybody or a brick wall?

We’re pretty well looked after in OZ. Your privacy is protected here and internationally. And every year, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) leads Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) in partnership with state and territory privacy regulators and the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities members.

This year, it runs from Monday 16 June to Sunday 22 June with the theme: ‘Privacy – it’s everyone’s business’. Make it yours!

But how are your privacy smarts? Are you, or others in your business, busybodies who share everything, or do you keep stum like a brick wall? Do you know what’s all-go as opposed to no-go in the world of privacy regulations? Would you or your business put a foot wrong if put to the test?

Take the test!

(You might get some surprises!)

1 / 12

Privacy isn’t a fundamental human right here in Australia, is it?

2 / 12

Collecting personal data from employees and clients without their consent is fine, nothing to worry about.

3 / 12

We don’t have to have a privacy policy, do we?

4 / 12

We can charge employees or clients if they ask us to access and supply their own data back to them – can’t we?

5 / 12

If our employees and clients want access to their information, they have to put it in writing - right?

6 / 12

We don’t need to notify clients about data breaches on the off chance that it could impact them, do we?

7 / 12

We collect clients’ voice prints and facial recognition biometrics – but they’re not regarded as personal information, are they?

8 / 12

When someone has died, their personal information is still covered by the Privacy Act, yeah?

9 / 12

We can take photos of clients and employees and publish them on our website or Facebook – can’t we?

10 / 12

We’re allowed to send employee or client personal data overseas - true?

11 / 12

We treat sensitive and personal data as the same thing and in the same way. That’s ok, isn’t it?

12 / 12

If someone complains to us about how we’ve handled their personal information, we have 6 months to respond (if we can be bothered).

Your score is

The average score is 43%

0%

So, how did you do?

We’re not going to call you out on your results as they’re private (but you get bragging rights if you aced it). However, if you didn’t do as well as you expected, perhaps it’s the right time to brush up on your knowledge, roll out some team training and review your own Privacy Policy.

If you’re inadvertently leaking data, it’s time to put a PAW in it

Privacy Awareness Week is a great reminder that what’s private should stay private. Employees and clients share their personal and sometimes sensitive information with you on the understanding that you’ll manage access to it, not misuse it, and protect it vigorously and with integrity.

While data breaches can and certainly do happen because of cybercrime, they can also happen on a smaller scale through ignorance or carelessness.

Even inadvertently sharing someone’s data with a workmate or supplier can land your business with an infringement notice and generate penalties. But worst of all, it can destroy the faith your customers and employees have in your business, and that can be even harder to recover from.

So, cover your butt, and make data privacy your business.