ACAPS is a longstanding study commissioned by the OAIC to evaluate the awareness, understanding, behaviour and concerns about privacy among Australians. The research was first conducted in 1990 and took on its current form in 2001. It provides longitudinal information on Australians’ attitudes to key privacy issues, their experiences and perspectives around the use and protection of their personal information and the action they take to safeguard their privacy.

Since the last report in 2020, there have been some notable shifts in Australians’ awareness and attitudes towards privacy, driven by several events.

High-profile data breaches have drawn attention to the collection, retention and protection of personal information.

New applications and the increasing prevalence of technologies such as artificial intelligence and facial recognition have also presented new privacy considerations.

ACAPS 2023 has continued to evolve from earlier surveys. In particular, this survey explores biometrics and data breaches and harms that can result in more detail.

The main objectives of the 2023 survey are to:

• provide insights on Australians’ privacy attitudes and behaviours
• identify Australians’ awareness of and concerns about key and emerging privacy issues
• understand how Australians’ privacy awareness, attitudes and behaviours have changed over time
• collect data to assist the OAIC as the national privacy regulator across enforcement, compliance, policy, education and communications initiatives.