It is the end of the summer school holidays this week and the start of all things new—new school year, new teachers, new routine, new opportunities and new beginnings. In my household, it is a pivotal year with my youngest starting kindergarten and my eldest advancing out of infant school to Year 3. It occurred to me as I was listening to my eight-year-old last night share his aspirations and fears for the new school year that big changes are probably better dealt with by incremental changes in setting expectations, mindsets and behaviors. I know that the transition between preschool and primary school did not happen overnight and consisted of significant daily changes over a couple of years by dedicated professionals along with family support.

Needless to say, I see the same process unfolding within various organizations as a result of the privacy law reforms last year. They have been forced to make the big change of taking a more privacy-minded approach when adopting new technologies, processes and policies. To do that successfully requires a flexible approach with incremental changes that are sustainable and can be adapted into everyday business practices.

So returning to my PC to look at privacy news this week, I was pleased to read that the theme for Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) this year is “privacy every day."  The Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has announced that the emphasis will be on the need for organisations to embed privacy into business-as-usual processes. The theme also reminds individuals to think about their own privacy and take steps to protect their personal information. PAW will be held from 3 to 9 May. More details on PAW partnership opportunities are in the OAIC newsletter (downloads a Word file).

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Happy reading, and I hope to see you at our kickoff event this year, led by Richard Thomas, who will present on a risk-based approach to privacy. To quote iappANZ Board Director Malcolm Crompton, CIPP/US, “This is a unique opportunity. Richard Thomas is the previous information commissioner for the United Kingdom and is now leading the Center for Information Policy Leadership global project on developing a risk-based approach to privacy. This is our chance to join a global debate that is already having significant impact in companies and on the approach data protection regulators are taking.”