Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) runs from 4 to 10 May this year, and the 2026 theme lands squarely in territory that most Australian government agencies and regulated organisations are already grappling with: artificial intelligence, smart technology, and the privacy decisions that come with them.
The theme is "Smart tech, smarter choices: Protecting your privacy in the age of AI." It's a straightforward prompt for both individuals and organisations to stop, look at the technology they're using, and ask: do we actually know what happens to the personal information involved?
For WyldLynx, this week is a chance to stand alongside the privacy community and say clearly: good information management and good privacy practice are the same thing. You cannot do one well without the other.
Why PAW matters right now
PAW has been running since 2006, when the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) launched it as a coordinated annual campaign. It now spans jurisdictions across Australia, New Zealand, and the broader Asia Pacific region, with federal and state regulators running aligned activities throughout the week.
In Australia, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) co-ordinates the national program, with state and territory regulators running their own streams. In Queensland, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC Queensland) is the lead agency, and this year they have put together a strong program.
The OIC Queensland PAW 2026 hub is the go-to destination for Queensland public sector agencies and councils this week. Throughout PAW, OIC Queensland will publish a series of free, on-demand recorded presentations covering topics relevant to public sector staff, local councils, and senior executives.
The PAW resource pack includes posters, screensavers, Teams meeting backgrounds, and social media tiles. All free to download and use. If your agency is not yet using them, there is still time this week.
This year's keynote: an OECD perspective on privacy and AI
One of the standout features of the OIC Queensland program this year is the keynote speaker. Clarisse Girot, Head of the Data Policy, Privacy and Online Safety Division at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will deliver an on-demand presentation titled "Privacy in the Digital and AI Driven World."
The keynote is available on demand from 4 May. It covers the role privacy plays in a democratic and human-centred world, including Australia's approach to protecting children's privacy in the digital environment.
Having an OECD voice in a Queensland government privacy event is not something you see every year. For anyone working in information governance or records management in the Queensland public sector, this is worth an hour of your week.
The AI privacy problem is not theoretical
The 2026 theme is timely because the risks are real and they are already showing up in Australian workplaces.
AI tools are being used across government and enterprise right now for drafting, summarising, searching, classifying, and analysing information. Most of these tools touch personal information at some point in the workflow. The question is whether the people using them, and the agencies procuring them, have thought carefully about what happens to that information.
Some common scenarios we see in practice:
- Staff entering personal details into public AI tools when drafting correspondence or summaries
- Agencies deploying AI-assisted search or classification tools without a privacy impact assessment
- Vendors processing data offshore under terms that may not align with Queensland Privacy Principles or Australian Privacy Principles
- AI systems trained on data sets that include personal information not collected for that purpose
None of these are exotic edge cases. They are happening in ordinary workflows today. PAW 2026 is a useful moment to put these questions back on the agenda inside your organisation.
What the OIC Queensland is offering during PAW
The OIC Queensland has taken a new approach to PAW 2026. Rather than a single launch event, they are releasing a series of targeted recorded presentations throughout the week. These are designed for different audiences within Queensland public sector agencies:
- General public sector staff: privacy obligations and practical tips for handling personal information
- Local councils: a dedicated session on the Mandatory Notification of Data Breaches (MNDB) scheme, which comes into effect for councils on 1 July 2026
- Senior executives: guidance on leading a privacy-aware culture and governance responsibilities
- Community members: practical advice on protecting personal information in everyday life
The council-specific session is particularly relevant given the MNDB commencement date is just weeks away from PAW. If you work with Queensland local government clients, this is a priority watch.
The OIC has also produced a practical cyber security presentation in collaboration with the Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business, which covers privacy and cyber issues together. That's a sensible pairing that reflects how these two disciplines increasingly overlap.
What good information management looks like in an AI context
At WyldLynx, we spend a lot of time helping organisations understand what information they hold, where it lives, who can access it, and how it is being managed. That work has always been connected to privacy compliance, but AI brings new urgency to it. A few things worth thinking about during PAW week:
Do you know what data your AI tools are processing?
Most AI tools have terms of service that address data handling, but they are not always read carefully before procurement. It is worth reviewing what data is processed, where it goes, and whether it is used for model training. Some vendors opt you in by default.
Have you done a privacy impact assessment for new tools?
The Queensland Privacy Principles require public sector agencies to consider privacy before introducing new systems or processes that handle personal information. AI tools are not exempt. A privacy impact assessment does not need to be complex, but it does need to happen.
Is your information classified before it goes in?
One of the most effective controls is knowing what information you have before you expose it to any new system. Data discovery work, understanding your information asset register, and having clear classification schemes all reduce the risk of inadvertent exposure. If you do not know what you have, you cannot protect it.
Are staff aware of their responsibilities?
PAW is a practical prompt to run a short internal awareness session, share the OIC resources through your intranet or Teams channels, and remind people of the do's and don'ts around personal information and AI tools. The OIC resource pack makes this easy.
A note on the broader regulatory context
Queensland is in the middle of significant privacy law reform. The Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (IPOLA) introduced the Mandatory Notification of Data Breaches scheme, which commenced for most public sector agencies in July 2025. Local councils come into scope on 1 July 2026.
IPOLA also introduced the Queensland Privacy Principles (QPPs), which replaced the Information Privacy Principles for Queensland public sector agencies. These changes have real implications for how agencies handle personal information across the board, including in AI and digital contexts.
PAW 2026 falls at a useful point in that transition. The regulatory context is new, the technology risk is growing, and the week offers a structured moment to invest in awareness and capability.
Get involved this week
You do not need to be a privacy officer to participate in PAW. If your organisation handles personal information, this week is relevant to you.
A few practical starting points:
- Visit the OIC Queensland PAW 2026 page and download the free resource pack
- Watch the OECD keynote on privacy and AI — available on demand from 4 May
- Share the OIC resources via your Teams channels or intranet
- Run a short team conversation about AI tool use and privacy responsibilities
- Review your organisation's privacy policy and check it reflects current practice
And if you work in a Queensland local council or support one, the MNDB session is essential viewing before 1 July.
All PAW 2026 resources and recordings are available at oic.qld.gov.au/training-and-events/privacy-awareness-week.
If you would like to talk about how WyldLynx can help your organisation understand and protect the personal information you hold, we are happy to have that conversation.
