Sensitive information

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which of these is sensitive information under the Privacy Act?

A A student's locker number

B A student's medical diagnosis

2. Which is an example of biometric data, a type of sensitive information?

A A fingerprint scan used to unlock a school laptop

B A username typed to log in to a school laptop

3. True or false: Sensitive information is protected more strictly than other personal information.

A True

B False

4. An app wants to collect a user's religion. What does the Privacy Act generally require?

A No consent, because religion is public knowledge

B The user's consent, which should be clear and informed

5. Which statement explains why misuse of sensitive information is so harmful?

A It can lead to discrimination, embarrassment or unfair treatment

B It only means the person gets more advertising emails

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1sensitive information		ASensitive information based on body features, such as a fingerprint or face scan, used to identify a person
2biometric data		BMisuse of sensitive information can cause serious harm, such as discrimination or embarrassment, which is why it is protected more strictly
3Sensitive information usually needs the person's consent before an organisation collects it		Csensitive = ["health", "religion", "ethnic origin"]
4Health, religion and ethnic origin are examples of sensitive information		DHealth details are sensitive information, not ordinary personal information, so the app needs clear consent first and stricter care
5A school app collects students' health conditions without asking, because it is just like a name or email		Eif (isSensitive && !hasConsent) { collect = false }
6Misusing someone's religion data is no more harmful than misusing their favourite colour		FA special kind of personal information, like health or religion details, that the Privacy Act protects more strictly

Definitions

sensitive information

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

__ type = "biometric" THEN sensitive ← TRUE END IF

IF sensitive = TRUE THEN consent ← "________" END IF

IF data = "health" __ data = "ethnic" THEN sensitive ← TRUE END IF

IF sensitive = TRUE THEN risk ← "____" END IF

IF data = "face scan" THEN sensitive ← ____ END IF

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A types ← ["name","suburb"]

B IF field IN types THEN

C require explicit consent

D ENDIF

Question 2

A field ← "religion"

B IF field IS sensitive THEN

C assume consent is given

D ENDIF

Question 3

A field ← "fingerprint"

B IF field IS biometric THEN

C level ← "sensitive"

D consent ← "optional"

E ENDIF

Question 4

A record ← "ethnic origin"

B level ← "sensitive"

C store in locked database

D share with any company

Question 5

A type ← "religion"

B category ← "ordinary"

C PRINT "Needs extra care"

Answer Key

Sensitive information

Section A: Quick Questions

B — A student's medical diagnosis

A — A fingerprint scan used to unlock a school laptop

A — True

B — The user's consent, which should be clear and informed

A — It can lead to discrimination, embarrassment or unfair treatment

Section B: Match the Pairs

sensitive information → A special kind of personal information, like health or religion details, that the Privacy Act protects more strictly

biometric data → Sensitive information based on body features, such as a fingerprint or face scan, used to identify a person

Sensitive information usually needs the person's consent before an organisation collects it → if (isSensitive && !hasConsent) { collect = false }

Health, religion and ethnic origin are examples of sensitive information → sensitive = ["health", "religion", "ethnic origin"]

A school app collects students' health conditions without asking, because it is just like a name or email → Health details are sensitive information, not ordinary personal information, so the app needs clear consent first and stricter care

Misusing someone's religion data is no more harmful than misusing their favourite colour → Misuse of sensitive information can cause serious harm, such as discrimination or embarrassment, which is why it is protected more strictly

Section C: Definitions

sensitive information — A special kind of personal information, like health, ethnic origin, religion or biometric data, that the Privacy Act protects more strictly because misuse can cause serious harm.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF type = "biometric" THEN
  sensitive ← TRUE
END IF

IF sensitive = TRUE THEN
  consent ← "explicit"
END IF

IF data = "health" OR data = "ethnic" THEN
  sensitive ← TRUE
END IF

IF sensitive = TRUE THEN
  risk ← "high"
END IF

IF data = "face scan" THEN
  sensitive ← TRUE
END IF

Section E: Spot the Error

A — The list should hold sensitive information types such as health and religion. A name and a suburb are ordinary personal information, not sensitive information.

C — Sensitive information has stricter consent rules. The program must ask for explicit consent, not assume it has been given.

D — Biometric data is sensitive information, so it needs explicit consent. Consent cannot be treated as optional, so this line should be consent ← "explicit".

D — Ethnic origin is sensitive information, so it can only be shared with the person's consent. Sharing it with any company puts the person at risk of harm.

B — Religion is an example of sensitive information, so the category should be "sensitive". Calling it "ordinary" contradicts the message printed on line 3.