Every year, Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) encourages organisations and individuals to pause and reflect on how personal information is collected, used and protected. In 2026, Privacy Awareness Week runs from 4–10 May, led nationally by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in partnership with state and territory regulators.

This year’s theme, “Trust is built here. In every privacy complaint. In every resolution,” highlights a simple truth: trust is earned through how well personal information is handled, especially when things go wrong. For Australian businesses, Privacy Awareness Week is a timely reminder that privacy is not just a compliance obligation, it’s a core part of customer confidence, reputation, and risk management.

 

A National Focus on Children’s Online Privacy

One area receiving increased national attention in the lead‑up to Privacy Awareness Week 2026 is children’s online privacy. As digital services become a larger part of everyday life, ensuring personal information is handled responsibly, particularly for children and young people, has become a priority for regulators, families and organisations alike.

Launching the exposure draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code, Carly Kind, Australian Privacy Commissioner, said: “We have spent more than a year listening to children, parents and carers, educators, industry, civil society and academia about how children’s privacy can be better protected and respected online.”

This work is focused on ensuring the best interests of the child are central to how personal information is collected, used and disclosed by online services, building on Australia’s existing Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles.

For individuals and families, the OAIC’s Privacy for Kids hub provides accessible guidance and resources to help children, parents and carers better understand how personal information is handled online.

Learn more about the Children’s Online Privacy Code: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-for-kids

Privacy Expectations are Moving Upstream

While the Children’s Online Privacy Code focuses on protecting young people, it also reflects a broader shift in how privacy expectations are applied across digital services. For organisations, the message is clear: privacy considerations are increasingly expected to be addressed earlier in technology and data decisions, not after systems are designed or deployed.

This includes:

• Understanding how personal information may be collected, combined or repurposed.
• Assessing privacy risks before introducing new platforms or functionality.
• Ensuring transparency and accountability are built into digital services.
• Demonstrating that personal information is handled in a way that supports trust.

When asked how these developments translate into business practice, Diamond IT Managing Director and Founder Robert Buck commented that “for many organisations, this reinforces the importance of privacy by design, and the role of structured approaches such as privacy impact assessments to identify and manage privacy risk as part of broader business and technology change.”