Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsWhat is an organisation ?
(1) In this Act:
"organisation" means:
(a) an individual; or
(b) a body corporate; or
(c) a partnership; or
(d) any other unincorporated association; or
(e) a trust;
that is not a small business operator, a registered political party, an agency, a State or Territory authority or a prescribed instrumentality of a State or Territory.
Note 1: Under section 187LA of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 , service providers are, in relation to their activities relating to retained data, treated as organisations for the purposes of this Act.
Note: 2: Regulations may prescribe an instrumentality by reference to one or more classes of instrumentality. See subsection 13(3) of the Legislation Act 2003 .
Example: Regulations may prescribe an instrumentality of a State or Territory that is an incorporated company, society or association and therefore not a State or Territory authority.
Legal person treated as different organisations in different capacities
(2) A legal person can have a number of different capacities in which the person does things. In each of those capacities, the person is taken to be a different organisation .
Example: In addition to his or her personal capacity, an individual may be the trustee of one or more trusts. In his or her personal capacity, he or she is one organisation. As trustee of each trust, he or she is a different organisation.
What is a State or Territory authority ?
(3) In this Act:
"State or Territory authority" means:
(a) a State or Territory Minister; or
(b) a Department of State of a State or Territory; or
(c) a body (whether incorporated or not), or a tribunal, established or appointed for a public purpose by or under a law of a State or Territory, other than:
(i) an incorporated company, society or association; or
(ii) an association of employers or employees that is registered or recognised under a law of a State or Territory dealing with the resolution of industrial disputes; or
(d) a body established or appointed, otherwise than by or under a law of a State or Territory, by:
(i) a Governor of a State; or
(ii) the Australian Capital Territory Executive; or
(iii) the Administrator of the Northern Territory; or
(v) a State or Territory Minister; or
(e) a person holding or performing the duties of an office established by or under, or an appointment made under, a law of a State or Territory, other than the office of head of a State or Territory Department (however described); or
(f) a person holding or performing the duties of an appointment made, otherwise than under a law of a State or Territory, by:
(i) a Governor of a State; or
(ii) the Australian Capital Territory Executive; or
(iii) the Administrator of the Northern Territory; or
(v) a State or Territory Minister; or
(g) a State or Territory court.
Making regulations to stop instrumentalities being organisations
(4) Before the Governor - General makes regulations prescribing an instrumentality of a State or Territory for the purposes of the definition of organisation in subsection (1), the Minister must:
(a) be satisfied that the State or Territory has requested that the instrumentality be prescribed for those purposes; and
(b) consider:
(i) whether treating the instrumentality as an organisation for the purposes of this Act adversely affects the government of the State or Territory; and
(ii) the desirability of regulating under this Act the collection, holding, use, correction and disclosure of personal information by the instrumentality; and
(iii) whether the law of the State or Territory regulates the collection, holding, use, correction and disclosure of personal information by the instrumentality to a standard that is at least equivalent to the standard that would otherwise apply to the instrumentality under this Act; and
(c) consult the Commissioner about the matters mentioned in subparagraphs (b)(ii) and (iii).
State does not include Territory
(5) In this section:
"State" does not include the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory (despite subsection 6(1)).