Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Information Privacy Act 2000 - SECT 19

Process for approval of code of practice or code variation

19. Process for approval of code of practice or code variation



(1) An organisation may seek approval of a code of practice, or of a variation
of an approved code of practice, by submitting the code or variation to the
Privacy Commissioner.

(2) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister acting on
the advice received from the Privacy Commissioner under subsection (3), may by
notice published in the Government Gazette approve a code of practice or a
variation of an approved code of practice.

(3) The Privacy Commissioner may advise the Minister to recommend to the
Governor in Council that a code of practice, or a variation of an approved
code of practice, be approved if in his or her opinion-

   (a)  the code or variation is consistent with the objects of this Act in
        relation to the personal information to which the code applies; and

   (b)  the code of practice prescribes standards that are at least as
        stringent as the standards prescribed by the Information Privacy
        Principles; and

   (c)  the code specifies the organisations bound (either wholly or to a
        limited extent) by the code or a way of determining the organisations
        that are, or will be, bound (either wholly or to a limited extent) by
        the code; and

   (d)  only organisations that consent to be bound by the code are, or will
        be, bound by the code.

(4) Before deciding whether or not to advise the Minister to recommend
approval of a code of practice or of a variation of an approved code of
practice, the Privacy Commissioner-

   (a)  may consult any person or body that the Privacy Commissioner considers
        it appropriate to consult; and

   (b)  must have regard to the extent to which members of the public have
        been given an opportunity to comment on the code or variation.





(5) A code of practice or variation comes into operation at the beginning of-

   (a)  the day on which the notice of approval under subsection (2) is
        published in the Government Gazette; or

   (b)  such later day as is expressed in that notice as the day on which the
        code or variation comes into operation.