Information Commissioner finds VicForests conducted unlawful surveillance

On 5 May 2022, the Information Commissioner commenced an investigation in accordance with his function set out in section 8C(2)(e) of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act) to determine if VicForests conducted surveillance on members of the public and if it complied with Information Privacy Principles (IPP) 1.1 and 1.2.

On 10 August 2023, the Information Commissioner published this investigation report into how VicForests performed surveillance on several members of the public who were opposed to the organisation’s activities. The investigation considered whether VicForests failed to comply with the PDP Act and IPPs 1.1 and 1.2 by collecting personal information in a manner that was unlawful, unreasonably intrusive and not necessary for the organisation’s functions or activities.

Read our media release on the publication of the report.