Why do organisations always seem to ask for my date of birth when I ring...

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Question: Why do organisations always seem to ask for my date of birth when I ring them to discuss my business?

Answer: Organisations may ask this question and other questions about your identity because they want (as far as possible) to make sure that they are discussing the personal information they are holding about you with the right person - you! The Privacy Act has principles or rules about the way organisations must handle personal information and these include rules about keeping the information secure and who the organisation can give it to.

Many organisations may have collected personal information such as your date of birth, your full name and other contact details when you first started doing business with them. They may use this information as a way of verifying or checking your identity when you call them to discuss your business. But the Privacy Act means that organisations cannot use your date of birth for unrelated purposes and you may wish to confirm the purpose of the question when they ask.

If you are not happy about answering these questions every time you call you might like to ask the organisation if it is possible to set up a password for your account.

Click here to find out more about the National Privacy Principles which regulate the way an organisation handles personal information it holds about you.