As of January 1st 2015, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) will no longer be in operation due to budget cuts, which will see the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) administered by different parties. All matters relating to the Privacy Act will still be administered by the current Privacy Commissioner (Timothy Pilgrim) albeit with a smaller team based in Sydney. Since the OAIC was formed in November 2010, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate some of the achievements which have brought about greater transparency and protection in regards to the lawful collection, use and disclosure of personal information. These notable achievements include:

• Closed 5303 privacy complaints
• Dealt with 34,739 phone enquiries and 5845 written enquiries about privacy
• Conducted 91 own motion investigations and 10 audits
• Received 193 data breach notifications
• Implemented substantial changes to the Privacy Act that commenced on 12 March 2014, by undertaking or commencing preparation of nearly fifty legislative instruments, codes (including a comprehensive Credit Code), guideline statements and information sheets, and conducting an extensive public consultation process (receiving more than 90 public submissions on draft guidelines)
• Published guidance on emerging privacy issues, including Data Breach Notification Guidelines(2012), a Guide to Information Security (2013) and Mobile privacy: a better practice guide for mobile app developers (2013)
• Conducted and published a Community Attitudes to Privacy survey (2013)
• Annually hosted Privacy Awareness Week, and arranged participation by government agencies and private sector bodies (over 200 in 2014).

We look forward to seeing further accomplishments from Mr. Pilgrim and his team.