What is personal information under the PRIS Act?

Personal information 

Under the PRIS Act, personal information is:

"information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, that relates to an individual, whether living or dead, whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion;" 

It includes name, date of birth, address, contact information, location information, unique identifiers (e.g. drivers licence number or IP address), information that relates to features specific to an individual’s physical, genetic, cultural or behavioural identity. It can include inferences made about an individual. This list is not exhaustive. 

The full definition of personal information is in section 4 of the PRIS Act.

Sensitive personal information 

Sensitive personal information is a type of personal information. It includes information that relates to an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, political opinions and associations, religious beliefs, trade union membership, or criminal record. It includes health, genetic or genomic and biometric information. This list is not exhaustive. 

The full definition of sensitive personal information is in section 4 of the PRIS Act.

What is health information?

Health information is personal information that relates to an individual's health, illness, disability or injury. It includes health services provided or not provided to an individual and an individual’s expressed wishes about the provision of health services to them in the future. Health information includes other personal information collected to provide a health service. 

The full definition of health information is in section 4 of the PRIS Act.

Personal information in the PRIS Act and the FOI Act

Before 1 July 2026, there are important differences in the definition of personal information in the FOI Act and the PRIS Act.  

On and from 1 July 2026, the definition of personal information in the FOI Act will be amended to be the same as the definition of personal information in the PRIS Act.