← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

APP 10: quality of personal information

Australian Privacy Principle 10: take reasonable steps to make sure the personal information you collect, use or disclose is accurate, up to date and complete.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Privacy Principles and Digital Footprints — Module 26, WA Computer Science ATAR Year 11 — Data Management — Module 99

Understanding APP 10: quality of personal information in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

What it does: Validating input when it is collected is a reasonable step to keep personal information accurate. Checking data before it is used helps make sure it is up to date and complete, so the alert reaches the right person. An old phone number means the record is out of date. APP 10 expects organisations to take reasonable steps to keep records current. A record with important details missing is not complete. APP 10 asks for information that is accurate, up to date and complete. Checking at collection (for example, validating a form) and before use (for example, before sending a letter) are reasonable steps under APP 10.

Common mistakes: This check should warn when the email has no '@', because that email is probably inaccurate. It should be if '@' not in email: so it only warns about bad data. input() returns text, so comparing age with numbers would crash. It should be age = int(input('Age: ')) so the value can be checked for accuracy when it is collected.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 876–944) and word search (Modules 860–944).

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Learning
Duo
What does APP 10 require organisations to do about personal information?
Take reasonable steps to make sure it is accurate, up to date and completeDelete all personal information after one week
Matches
customer.address = "12 Old St" // moved 3 years ago, never updated
↓
The record is out of date. The customer moved, so parcels and bills go to the wrong address, which could cause harm and breaks APP 10.
Applying
Meanings
Term
APP 10
Meaning
Australian Privacy Principle 10: take reasonable steps to make sure the personal information you collect, use or disclose is accurate, up to date and complete.
Practice
IF record.email IS EMPTY THEN
Testing
Gaps
APP : quality of personal information
Check Answer
Spots
2email = input('Email: ')
3if '@' in email:

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Quick Questions

1. What does APP 10 require organisations to do about personal information?
A. Delete all personal information after one week
B. Take reasonable steps to make sure it is accurate, up to date and complete ✓
APP 10 is about the quality of personal information. Organisations must take reasonable steps to keep it accurate, up to date and complete.
2. A gym still has your old phone number on file after you told them the new one. Which part of APP 10 is the gym not meeting?
A. Up to date ✓
B. Anonymity
An old phone number means the record is out of date. APP 10 expects organisations to take reasonable steps to keep records current.
3. A school record shows a student's name and year level but is missing their emergency contact. Which quality is missing?
A. Complete ✓
B. Encrypted
A record with important details missing is not complete. APP 10 asks for information that is accurate, up to date and complete.
4. A bank records your birth date as 2009 when it is really 2008. Which quality is the record missing?
A. Anonymous
B. Accurate ✓
A wrong birth year means the record is not accurate. Accuracy means the information is correct.
5. When is the best time to check the quality of personal data?
A. When it is collected and again before it is used ✓
B. Only after a data breach happens
Checking at collection (for example, validating a form) and before use (for example, before sending a letter) are reasonable steps under APP 10.

Match the Pairs

APP 10 → The principle that says an organisation must take reasonable steps to make sure the personal information it collects, uses or discloses is accurate, up to date and complete.
if (record.lastChecked < today - 365) flagForReview(record) → Checks whether a record is old and flags it, so the information is up to date before it is used.
Checking data at collection: a form refuses an impossible birth year so the record is accurate from the start. → if (birthYear < 1900 or birthYear > 2025) reject(birthYear)
Checking data before use: a school confirms a parent's phone number is still current before sending an urgent alert. → if (phoneNumber.confirmed == false) askToConfirm(phoneNumber)
customer.address = "12 Old St" // moved 3 years ago, never updated → The record is out of date. The customer moved, so parcels and bills go to the wrong address, which could cause harm and breaks APP 10.
student = {name: "Sam Lee", email: "", emergencyContact: ""} → The record is incomplete. With no email or emergency contact, the school cannot contact anyone in a real emergency, which breaks APP 10.

Key Term

APP 10
Australian Privacy Principle 10: take reasonable steps to make sure the personal information you collect, use or disclose is accurate, up to date and complete.

Fill in the Blanks

1. APP 10: quality of personal information
Hint: Type the number of the Australian Privacy Principle about data quality.
2. Data must be accurate, up to date and complete
Hint: Type the third quality word that means nothing important is missing.
3. if "@" not in email: print("Check the email")
Hint: Type the operator pair that checks the symbol is absent, so wrong data is caught at collection.
4. if days > 365: print("Record may be out of date")
Hint: Type the comparison operator for 'greater than' to flag a record whose days since last check is too high, before it is used.
5. if len(name) == 0: print("Name is missing")
Hint: Type the built-in function that counts characters, to spot an incomplete record.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A name = input('Name: ')
B email = input('Email: ')
C if '@' in email:
D print('Check your email')
Line C — This check should warn when the email has no '@', because that email is probably inaccurate. It should be if '@' not in email: so it only warns about bad data.
Question 2
A age = input('Age: ')
B if age < 0 or age > 120:
C print('Please check age')
Line A — input() returns text, so comparing age with numbers would crash. It should be age = int(input('Age: ')) so the value can be checked for accuracy when it is collected.
Question 3
A last_check = 2022
B gap = last_check - 2025
C if gap > 1:
D print('Update record')
Line B — The subtraction is the wrong way round, so the gap is negative and an old record would never be flagged as out of date. It should be gap = 2025 - last_check.
Question 4
A name = input('Name: ')
B dob = input('Birth date: ')
C if name == '' and dob == '':
D print('Missing details')
Line C — Using 'and' only flags a record when BOTH fields are empty, so incomplete records slip through. It should use 'or' so a single missing field is caught and the record is complete.
Question 5
A email = record['email']
B if not record['verified']:
C send_offer(email)
Line B — The 'not' means offers are sent only to emails that have NOT been checked. Data should be verified before use, so it should be if record['verified']:.

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