The Australian Privacy Foundation is an
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
formed for the purpose of protecting the privacy rights of
Australians
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the con ...
. Its aim is to focus public attention on emerging issues which pose a threat to the freedom and privacy of Australians, and also takes a leading role on issues of defending rights of individuals to control access to personal information and to be free of excessive intrusions.
History
The organisation was initially formed on 31 August 1987 at the
Sebel Town House
The Sebel Townhouse Hotel, formerly a hotel in Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales, Australia.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Sebel Townhouse became the unofficial home of the Australian music industry. Australian artists met with touring guests li ...
,
Kings Cross,
Sydney for the sole purpose of coordinating public resistance against the
Australia Card
The Australia Card was a proposal for a national identification card for Australian citizens and resident foreigners. The proposal was made in 1985, and abandoned in 1987.
History
The idea for the card was raised at the national Tax Summit in ...
, first proposed as part of the 1985
Federal Budget. The media were attracted to the launch on account of support for the movement by a number of high-profile persons including
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician.
In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
,
Alan Jones,
Ben Lexcen
Benjamin Lexcen AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to ''Australia II'' which, in 1983, became the first non-American yac ...
, and
Janine Haines
Janine Winton Haines, AM (née Carter; 8 May 1945 – 20 November 2004) was an Australian politician who was a Senator for South Australia from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1981 to 1990. She represented the Australian Democrats, and served as t ...
.
After the group led the charge in successfully defeating the Australia Card, it was clear to the group that an ongoing national voice for privacy protection was needed in Australia. During the remaining years of the 1980s, the Foundation's focus was to ensure that the
tax file number A tax file number (TFN) is a unique identifier issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to each taxpaying entity — an individual, company, superannuation fund, partnership, or trust. Not all individuals have a TFN, and a business has both ...
(TFN) scheme did not become an ID Card in disguise, and to lobby both state and federal governments for the enactment of national privacy legislation. The first summit organised by the Foundation brought together officials from the
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuatio ...
, politicians and privacy advocates together to examine the TFN proposals, and exposed many weaknesses in the proposals which the Government was subsequently forced to rectify.
The organisation has remained strongly focussed on policy matters. It has made many submissions to Parliamentary Committees, government agencies, industry associations and corporations. It has run a number of campaigns, in relation to such matters as credit reporting, government proposals to create identification schemes, and privacy and the media. Since 2008, it has become more proactive, developing a series of Policy Statements on matters of particular significance.
The organisation also provides a set of resources for people undertaking research into privacy issues in Australia. These include outlines of and links to privacy oversight agencies, and NGOs in the privacy, human rights and consumer rights space, and titles of and links to laws in Australia's nine jurisdictions that provide privacy protections.
Board
The organisation operated continuously for its first 15 years, but on an informal basis. This included the establishment of a web-site in 1998. It was incorporated in 2002. The organisation has a governing board, consisting of fifteen members of whom four are officers (Chair, two Vice-Chairs, a Treasurer and a Secretary). Members are appointed for a period of one year, with all positions falling vacant at the next Annual General Meeting. The Board is supported by an Advisory Panel of leading Australian public figures.
The Smith Awards
In 2005 the Australian Privacy Foundation announced the Smith Awards. These are named conjointly after:
* Winston Smith, the protagonist of
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalita ...
's novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
''
* the common use of the name
Smith
Smith may refer to:
People
* Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals
* Smith (given name)
* Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland
** List of people w ...
as a pseudonym to protect one's anonymity, and
*
Ewart Smith, the Australian retired public servant who was instrumental in the demise of the
Australia Card
The Australia Card was a proposal for a national identification card for Australian citizens and resident foreigners. The proposal was made in 1985, and abandoned in 1987.
History
The idea for the card was raised at the national Tax Summit in ...
Bill in 1987.
Australian Privacy Foundation: Australian Big Brother Awards
Retrieved 1 June 2013
References
by Simon Davies, Director, Privacy International and Visiting Fellow, The London School of Economics (London, February 2004)
{{reflist
External links
''Australian Privacy Foundation''
"APF Policy Statements and Submissions"
"APF Resources for Privacy Researchers"
"Bennett C.J. (2008) 'The Privacy Advocates: Resisting the Spread of Surveillance' The MIT Press, 2008"
Political organisations based in Australia
Privacy organizations