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Where am I now? Lawlink > privacynsw > Your Privacy > What is personal information?
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What is personal information?
Personal information is any information or opinion about an identifiable person.
This could include:
- written records about a person
- a photograph or image of a person
- fingerprints or DNA samples that identify a person
- information about a person that is not written down, but which is in the possession or control of the agency.
There are some exemptions from the definition of personal information. For example:
- personal information does not include information about a person who has been dead for 30 or more years
- personal information does not include various classes of information used for specific purposes or in specific contexts
From 1 September 2004 health information will not be included in the definition of personal information in the PPIP Act. However health information will be covered specifically by the HRIP Act.
Is a name ‘personal information’?
Some people assume that a name alone is not personal information. However it is very rare to mention a person’s name without implying some further information about them that would qualify as personal information. For example the name of a person mentioned in the context of a list of clients of a mental heath service provides different personal information about a person than does their name when printed in a telephone directory.
Does ‘personal information’ always have to include a name?
The test is whether or not the person’s identity can “reasonably be ascertained” from the information. This is possible even if the person is not named.
If you were to read a piece about “a famous Australian actress who used to be married to Tom Cruise”, would you know who was being talked about? Even without being named her identity can ‘reasonably be ascertained’ by the reader. This is known as ‘constructive identification’.
It will often depend on the context in which information is being used and communicated as to whether it is personal information. You may need to consider this context when deciding whether your actions or your information are affected by privacy laws.
As long as information is being communicated to someone who can identify the person it is about, the information may meet the definition of ‘personal information’. The more details are given about a person, and the wider the audience, the more likely it will be that it will amount to ‘personal information’.
For example, a photo of a group of people clearly shows Jane’s face. Although the person taking the photograph may not know Jane, if someone who does know Jane recognises her, the photo may convey personal information.
Another example is this. A public servant may talk publicly about one of her clients without naming them. If she mentions enough details (gender, age, suburb, how old his kids are and what school they go to), someone in the audience is likely to ‘put two and two together’ and ‘constructively identify’ who is being talked about.
Definitions
The PPIP Act and HRIP Act define 'personal information' as "information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database and whether or not recorded in a material form) about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion”.
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