---
sourceDocument: Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/governance-risk-compliance

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance

ft:clusterId :

    - grc

bundleId :

    - grc

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Uses of a processing activity

# Uses of a processing activity in Privacy Management {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

A processing activity is a record that processes personal data. Examples of such records
are a business process or a business application of an organization. Processing activities enable
the privacy management teams to understand how personal information is being processed or
used.  
To understand more details about a processing activity, refer to [Processing activities](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/C~9uwJNUC71LG2LbHDTRjg "A processing activity is a record that processes personal data. Examples of such records can be a business process or a business application of an organization that has personal information. Processing activities enable the privacy management teams to understand how personal information is being processed or used."). A processing activity helps the privacy teams to record the following details:

* Processing activity details such as the business unit it belongs to, data subject type, data storage location, and so on.
* \[PI\] Information objects that are being processed as a part of this processing activity.
* Past and ongoing privacy assessments.
* Controls that are applied to the processing activity and the respective control attestation responses.
* Issues and policy exceptions associated with this processing activity.
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The following image shows the Overview tab of a processing activity.Figure 1. Processing activity record
* **[Workflow of a processing activity](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/gJfxS8rx4vRI~4DGb2ZMmg)**   
  A processing activity workflow helps the privacy analysts to manage the life cycle of a processing activity.