Your rights

Is the Commissioner on my side?

OPC is impartial and does not take sides. We are independent of Government. 

Can the Commissioner order an agency to pay money?

No. We can make agencies give us documents, but we cannot force them to pay settlements. We won’t share these documents with anyone else. 

Does the Commissioner make legal rulings?

We do not make rulings or determinations. However, our opinion is an important indication of whether there has been a breach of the Privacy Act. Our views are taken seriously.

Do I have a right to see everything on the file?

No. In order to conduct effective investigations, both parties need to be able to speak to us openly and frankly, and anything a complainant or respondent says to us is protected by law. For this reason, we do not share the actual correspondence we receive. We make sure that both the complainant and respondent know what we are investigating and why. 

How long will the investigation take?

This depends on how complex the issues are, and how quickly we get the information we need. We close most investigations within six months of an investigator being assigned, but occasionally they take longer.