Statistics on all privacy complaints including APP, outcome, and complaint stage
Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
I request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to a document containing aggregated statistics on all privacy complaints received by the OAIC, broken down by the following fields (where recorded and to the extent each is captured in a structured or extractable form):
* Calendar year received
* Open or closed status
* Case outcome
* The stage or progression reached by the complaint (for example, whether the complaint proceeded to investigation or was closed at an earlier stage)
* Australian Privacy Principles cited or at issue (I note that the OAIC's annual reports include a breakdown of complaints by APP, indicating that this information is recorded in a structured form)
* Count (number of complaints)
If no such document currently exists, I request that a document be created by extracting this information from the OAIC's relevant databases or complaint management systems, pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act.
Scope: 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025.
For clarity, "calendar year" means the period 1 January to 31 December. For example, a complaint received on 15 March 2023 should appear under calendar year 2023. I request that any report produced clearly state the date logic used.
I do not seek access to individual complaints or any information that would identify individual complainants or respondents. I agree to the names and direct contact details of non-senior staff being removed.
Yours faithfully,
Ada
Thank you for your email which has been received by the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
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attachments.
OAIC reference: FOIREQ26/00051
To Ada
I refer to your request (below), for access to documents made to the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
Scope of your request
Your FOI request was made in the following terms:
I request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to a document
containing aggregated statistics on all privacy complaints received by the
OAIC, broken down by the following fields (where recorded and to the
extent each is captured in a structured or extractable form):
• Calendar year received
• Open or closed status
• Case outcome
• The stage or progression reached by the complaint (for example,
whether the complaint proceeded to investigation or was closed at an
earlier stage)
• Australian Privacy Principles cited or at issue (I note that the
OAIC's annual reports include a breakdown of complaints by APP,
indicating that this information is recorded in a structured form)
• Count (number of complaints)
If no such document currently exists, I request that a document be created
by extracting this information from the OAIC's relevant databases or
complaint management systems, pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act.
Scope: 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025.
For clarity, "calendar year" means the period 1 January to 31 December.
For example, a complaint received on 15 March 2023 should appear under
calendar year 2023. I request that any report produced clearly state the
date logic used.
I do not seek access to individual complaints or any information that
would identify individual complainants or respondents. I agree to the
names and direct contact details of non-senior staff being removed.
Timeframes for dealing with your request
Your FOI request was received by the OAIC on 16 February 2026 and the
30-day statutory time period for processing your request commenced the
next day. The legislated timeframe for a decision on your FOI request
falls on 18 February 2026.
The processing time may also be extended if we need to consult with third
parties and we will advise you if this happens.
In order to process your request more quickly, we will remove from any
document bundle we provide, duplicate material, unless context requires
otherwise.
Disclosure Log
Documents released under the FOI Act may be published online on our
disclosure log, unless they contain personal or business information that
would be unreasonable to publish.
If you do not receive a decision within 30 days, or advice from us that
the statutory timeframe has been extended, you can apply to the
Information Commissioner for review of what is called a ‘deemed decision’.
For further information, see [1]Apply for an Information Commissioner
review | OAIC (or visit [2]www.oaic.gov.au).
If you have any queries, please contact us by email or provide a phone
number and advise a convenient time for us to call you.
Regards
[3][IMG] FOI administration
Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner
E: [4][OAIC request email]
[5][IMG] | [6][IMG] | [7][IMG] | [8]Subscribe to Information
Matters
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and their continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We pay
our respect to First Nations people, cultures and Elders past and present.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ada <[9][FOI #14304 email]>
Sent: Monday, 16 February 2026 12:22 PM
To: OAIC - FOI <[10][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Statistics on all privacy
complaints including APP, outcome, and complaint stage
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CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know
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Dear Office of the Australian Information Commissioner,
I request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to a document
containing aggregated statistics on all privacy complaints received by the
OAIC, broken down by the following fields (where recorded and to the
extent each is captured in a structured or extractable form):
* Calendar year received
* Open or closed status
* Case outcome
* The stage or progression reached by the complaint (for example, whether
the complaint proceeded to investigation or was closed at an earlier
stage)
* Australian Privacy Principles cited or at issue (I note that the OAIC's
annual reports include a breakdown of complaints by APP, indicating that
this information is recorded in a structured form)
* Count (number of complaints)
If no such document currently exists, I request that a document be created
by extracting this information from the OAIC's relevant databases or
complaint management systems, pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act.
Scope: 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025.
For clarity, "calendar year" means the period 1 January to 31 December.
For example, a complaint received on 15 March 2023 should appear under
calendar year 2023. I request that any report produced clearly state the
date logic used.
I do not seek access to individual complaints or any information that
would identify individual complainants or respondents. I agree to the
names and direct contact details of non-senior staff being removed.
Yours faithfully,
Ada
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Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
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