Complaints about South Australian Government

South Australian Government agencies must comply with the Information Privacy Principles Instruction and other relevant legislation in the way they manage, collect, use and store personal information.

If you believe a South Australian Government agency has failed to comply with the Information Privacy Principles Instruction and has breached your privacy you should, in the first instance, contact a senior officer in that agency to try and resolve the issue.

If the agency is unable to help you, or you are dissatisfied with the response, you can lodge a complaint with the authority best placed to deal with your concerns.

Below are some examples of complaint categories, and the appropriate body to lodge them with.

Complaint CategoryWho to lodge with

Employees of the Crown, agencies or instrumentalities of the Crown, in relation to their employment

The Office of the Commissioner for the Public Sector and Employment

Delivery of government health services

Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner

South Australia Police

Office for Public Integrity

Corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration

The Office for Public Integrity, and/or

The South Australian Ombudsman (misconduct and maladministration only)

Complaints about private organisations or Commonwealth Government agencies

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Local Government

See the Local Government Associations Complaints about councils webpage for more information

Universities

See the Governments Feedback and complaints about tertiary education webpage for more information

Privacy Committee Complaint Management

The Privacy Committee’s purpose in handling complaints is to make sure underlying causes are identified and practices reviewed to prevent future harm.

The Privacy Committee is able to:

  • make recommendations to the agency or public about steps that should be taken to improve the protection of information privacy, or
  • refer complaints to another authority.

For privacy complaints that aren't covered by another area, you may email a written complaint  to the Executive Officer of the Privacy Committee.

Your written complaint should include:

  • detail of the SA Government agency you consider has mishandled your personal information.
  • details of your concerns:
    • what happened
    • when it happened
    • who did it
    • how and when you found out about it.
  • copies of correspondence you have had with the agency in relation to your complaint.

When the complaint is received in writing, the Privacy Committee will forward it to the agency you believe has breached your privacy. In most instances this will require your identifying information to be forwarded.

The Executive Officer of the Privacy Committee will:

  • acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing, and contact you to clarify scope and expectations, within 5 business days.
  • confirm in writing, the content of any phone conversations with you, within 2 business days.
  • provide you with updates throughout the complaint resolution process, as relevant.
  • seek a response from the agency to see whether they think a breach of the Information Privacy Principles has occurred and what action has been or might be taken to resolve the matter, within 25 business days.
  • seek advice and recommendations from the Privacy Committee at its next meeting , this may be up to 6-8 weeks depending on schedule.
  • if necessary make a recommendation to the agency to: amend their practices or adopt other measures to resolve the complaint.
  • communicate outcomes to you and the agency.

If your complaint relates to complex issues, there may be additional steps in this process, and timeframes may be longer.

The matter will either be resolved, referred, returned to the agency, or closed.

Contact the Executive Officer for any queries about the progress of a complaint.

Page last updated: 20 October 2023