Business Surveys Collection Notice

This collection notice explains how the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects personal information for business surveys in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principal 5 (Privacy Act, 1988). This collection notice applies to business surveys effective 2 September 2025. 

The ABS collects personal information through surveys, which you can do using a paper form, online or with an interviewer over the phone. Our staff will outline the information they are seeking and how we will use this.

If you are completing your survey online, the ABS will also collect your personal information when you create an online account.

The ABS may also collect personal information for the business surveys program through face-to-face interviews.

In the ABS’ business surveys program, the ABS will either:

• collect your personal information directly from you
• receive your personal information from your business representative (e.g. accountant, tax agent)
• receive your personal information from one of our data collection partners, through the register of all Australian businesses or from publicly available sources of information.

For the ABS’ business survey program, we may collect personal information including, but not limited to:

• name
• role
• mobile phone number
• email address
• signature.

We also collect business characteristics including the business/organisation’s address, email addresses, and phone numbers.

Generally, the Privacy Act does not consider information that is only about a business as personal information. This is because the Privacy Act defines an ‘individual’ as a ‘natural person’ and does not include a corporate entity (including a company).

The ABS acknowledges that sometimes there is a connection between an individual’s personal information and information about their business/organisation. For example, where a sole trader owns and manages the business, the distinction between business information and personal information might sometimes overlap.

The type of information the ABS collects depends on the survey we ask you to participate in. Further details about your survey are available on our website and in the materials we send you.

The ABS collects personal information to help us run our surveys. This includes using your contact details to maintain contact with you as part of our data collection and editing activities. We also use this information to improve how we manage and conduct our surveys, and to enhance the tools and registers that support our business operations. We may use mail, email, phone and SMS to inform, remind and follow up with you about your survey participation. 

Statistics produced from ABS surveys help provide governments, businesses and communities with the information they need to inform important decisions on a wide range of economic, social, population and environmental matters.

Data integration

The ABS wants to make the best use of data and statistics. One way to do this is combining data from different sources together, which is known as data integration. Data integration supports researchers and the government to better understand Australia’s industries and economy. This can help to improve government services like infrastructure, and community services.

By reusing data, we can ask for less information from surveys, saving you time, and using public money better.

Data integration protects your privacy by removing personal information before any data analysis. This way we do not use your personal information in a way that can identify you, or the business/ organisation.

You can learn more about data integration by visiting our Data Integration page or the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment. 

DATA Scheme

The ABS may share information we collect as part of the DATA Scheme, established by the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022. To help deliver government services, the DATA scheme sets out safeguards and processes for sharing Australian Government data. The ABS will only share personal information through the DATA Scheme with the written approval of the Australian Statistician. 

Only accredited entities can access information shared through the DATA Scheme, and in line with the Privacy Act 1988, personal information remains protected at all times. The DATA Scheme will only share information for permitted purposes and will not share data for either national security or enforcement-related purposes. 

Consistent with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, the ABS, and any other accredited entity we work with as part of a project under the DATA Scheme, will never publicly release information in a manner likely to enable the identification of any individual, or business/organisation. 

Requesting ABS data under the Data Availability and Transparency Act (DATA) Scheme provides more information about ABS participation in the DATA Scheme.

The ABS takes the security of the information you give us very seriously.

All ABS employees have signed a legally enforceable ‘Undertaking of Fidelity and Secrecy’ agreement in which they must keep any information private and confidential. This includes any personal information, which they deal with in the course of their work. This agreement applies to ABS employees for the rest of their lives, even if they leave the ABS. The penalty for breaching this is two years imprisonment, a fine, or both. You can find the other ways we keep your information safe on our Privacy, security and confidentiality pages. 

The ABS complies with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you can show that we have acted against these principles, you can find information on how to lodge a complaint on the ABS Privacy Policy for Statistical Information page.

The ABS stores all the retained personal information in secure data centres located within Australia. We have privacy policies for Statistical Information and Managing and Operating Our Business, and webpages on Privacy, security and confidentiality, which provide further information about how the ABS manages and protects your personal information. 

We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Archives Act 1983 in the retention and deletion of your personal information. 

For all information, including personal information collected for business surveys, the ABS:

• may provide access to information that does not identify you or your business/organisation to approved researchers and do so in a safe way.
• may share information with DATA Scheme Accredited Data Service Providers, who help provide Accredited Users access to information that does not identify you or your business/organisation. 

In limited cases, and under strict legal conditions, the ABS may release identifiable information about businesses or organisations, including contact details, as permitted by the Census and Statistics (Information Release and Access) Determination 2018, see: Release of lists of business characteristics. 

Unless required under, or authorised by, an Australian Law, the ABS will not:

• share information with private organisations for the purposes of direct marketing
• share data with other government agencies for compliance or regulation activities.

We ask the questions included in our surveys under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act). Under the Act, the business/organisation you represent is obliged to provide the information requested, unless otherwise stated. 

For our compulsory surveys, if the business/organisation does not complete the survey, the ABS may direct you in writing to complete the survey. This is a legal direction referred to as a Notice of Direction.

Failure to comply with a Notice of Direction is an offence under the Act and can result in prosecution and fines. It is also a finable offence to provide false or misleading statements or information. 

For any enquiries about accessing or correcting personal information you have provided in relation to an ABS survey, please refer to the contact details for the survey that you’re participating in. Otherwise, please contact us using one of the channels listed on our Contact us page.

Where you can show we have not adequately protected your privacy, the Contact us page and ABS Privacy Policy for Statistical Information have information on how you can make a complaint. The policy describes how we will respond to your complaint, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our response.