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Privacy Act 2020

About the code

The Civil Defence National Emergencies (Information Sharing) Code 2020 (Civil Defence Code) provides agencies with broader discretion to collect, use and disclose personal information in the rare event of a major disaster that has triggered a state of national emergency. In particular, the Civil Defence Code will facilitate the disclosure of personal information to public sector agencies to assist in the government response to a national emergency.

The Civil Defence Code promotes the vital interests of individuals in national emergencies by, for example, facilitating the sharing of information to help identify individuals who have been caught up in the emergency, to assist individuals to obtain essential services and to coordinate the management of the emergency.

In March 2026 we issued Amendment No 1 to the Civil Defence Code to fix a drafting error, alongside broader code amendments to reflect new Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A).