Privacy – what does it mean at ANU?

With Privacy Awareness Week (15-19 May 2017) upon us, University Librarian and Chief Scholarly Information Officer Roxanne Missingham tells us why being informed about privacy is important.

In 2017 you may ask - what is privacy and why does it matter?  After all we all share information on Facebook, Linkedin and are recorded in systems in our university, government, banks and elsewhere.

Because your information is in so many systems, it has never been more important to ensure that it is protected in accordance with legislation and policies. Your information needs to be protected - and you need to be aware of how important protecting your privacy is to make decisions about how your information is shared.

Never before have there been so many concerns about misuse of personal information.

 "Our statistics show a 20 per cent increase in privacy complaints made to my office so far this financial year. This highlights just how Australian expectations of privacy are maturing each year," Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said at the 2017 launch of Privacy Awareness Week.

At ANU the Privacy policy outlines and guides our outlines the personal information handling practices.

We collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information to enable us to meet legal obligations and for a range of internal University purposes. These are outlined in the policy for students and for employees, visitors and sub-contractors.

We encourage you to be aware of the need to be aware of personal information you share and carefully read the conditions you share information under before you click on "I agree". Remember that many websites do not protect your personal details well, and your identity is vital for your careers and work - whether you are a student, academic or professional staff member.

When you share data take care to ensure you have appropriate ethical approval or are using authorised systems. Gmail is a great place to send messages to your friends and arrange dinner, but it is not the place for sharing personal information.

Do take five minutes to do the Privacy course on Pulse - and discover why you can't phone HR to find out when your colleague was born to arrange a surprise birthday party.