This week is Privacy Awareness Week, and NSW councils have been issued a checklist to see if they are taking residents’ privacy seriously enough.

Local Government NSW says public sector agencies need to be aware of the privacy laws that cover their communities, with a number of measures specific to NSW public agencies and health providers.

The NSW public sector is expected to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act), as well as the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act).

The Information and Privacy Commission has developed a Privacy Checklist (PDF) for NSW Public Sector Agency Staff, which authorities say should be used to review privacy practices and factor enhanced privacy into new processes.

In addition to the checklist, the IPC has launched a range of new resources to support Privacy Awareness Week 2014, which is themed ‘Mobilise your privacy, stay safe online’.

The IPC is encouraging all organisations to use the checklists to raise awareness of privacy.