I agree it’d be best to hire an attorney, but if that’s not possible you may be able to have success anyway. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to write a letter stating the WT's affirmation was false and requesting they reopen the investigation? If they would do that, it would save you from going to court.
Link to section 6 defining covered entities
6C
Organisations
What is an organisation?
(1) In this Act:
organisation
means:
(a) an individual; or
(b) a body corporate; or
(c) a partnership; or
(d) any other unincorporated association; or
(e) a trust;
that is not a small business operator, a registered political party, an agency, a State or Territory authority or a prescribed instrumentality of a State or Territory.
Note: Regulations may prescribe an instrumentality by reference to one or more classes of instrumentality. See subsection 46(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
Example: Regulations may prescribe an instrumentality of a State or Territory that is an incorporated company, society or association and therefore not a State or Territory authority.
6D
Small business and small business operators
What is a small business?
(1) A business is a small business at a time (the test time) in a financial year (the current year) if its annual turnover for the previous financial year is $3,000,000 or less.
Test for new business
(2) However, if there was no time in the previous financial year when the business was carried on, the business is a small business at the test time only if its annual turnover for the current year is $3,000,000 or less.
What is a small business operator?
(3) A small business operator is an individual, body corporate, partnership, unincorporated association or trust that:
(a) carries on one or more small businesses; and
(b) does not carry on a business that is not a small business.
Entities that are not small business operators
(4) However, an individual, body corporate, partnership, unincorporated association or trust is not a small business operator if he, she or it:
(a) carries on a business that has had an annual turnover of more than $3,000,000 for a financial year that has ended after the later of the following:
(i) the time he, she or it started to carry on the business;
(ii) the commencement of this section; or
(b) provides a health service to another individual and holds any health information except in an employee record; or
(c) discloses personal information about another individual to anyone else for a benefit, service or advantage; or
(d) provides a benefit, service or advantage to collect personal information about another individual from anyone else; or
(e) is a contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract (whether or not a party to the contract).
So it seems you must address all items from 4a-4e. If I were you, I’d try responding by pasting section 4a-4e above and giving bullet points why it meets the definition of covered entities, under each lettered item. I will help compose a response if you want, but it would go something like this (after introductory paragraph):
"The (official name of your privacy law, section blah blah blah), says:
'However, an individual, body corporate, partnership, unincorporated association or trust is not a small business operator if he, she or it:
(a) carries on a business that has had an annual turnover of more than $3,000,000 for a financial year that has ended after the later of the following:
(i) the time he, she or it started to carry on the business;
(ii)
the commencement of this section; or…'
The WTS has an annual turnover of $_______, as evidenced by ______. Thus, the WTS does not qualify as a small business under this section.
The privacy act also defines exempt organizations as those who '(b) provides a health service to another individual and holds any health information except in an employee record; or…'
The WTS provides health services to its volunteers at branch headquarters…"
…And so on, addressing each of the points in the small business definition and listing reasons the WTS does meet the definition.
