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Your rights

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Correct your information

Businesses or organisations need to make sure that the information they have about you is accurate. If you think information held about you is wrong (for example, your birth date is listed wrong), you can ask them to correct it.

You can ask for any information about you that you think is wrong, incomplete, or misleading to be corrected.

Read the details about correcting personal information in IPP 7

When an agency disagrees with the correction

Under the Privacy Act an agency (business or organisation) doesn’t have to make the changes you’ve requested but they must consider them. If they decline to correct your information, they must explain why.

It’s important to note that an agency doesn’t have to make the changes you request. While the agency needs to consider a correction request (upon receiving one), there is no obligation under the Privacy Act saying that they must make the changes as requested. The obligation is specifically to consider the request and take reasonable steps to attach a statement of correction if it does not agree with the correction.

The statement of correction should be short and to the point to make sure that it can be read alongside the disputed information.

If an organisation or business refuses to correct your information or attach a statement of correction, you can complain to our office.

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