Law Reform: Privacy Act

The Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022 increases penalties for serious or repeated interferences with privacy under the Privacy Act 1988.

'The Privacy Act includes 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which apply to some private sector organisations, as well as most Australian Government agencies. These are collectively referred to as ‘APP entities’. The Privacy Act also regulates the privacy component of the consumer credit reporting system, tax file numbers, and health and medical research...'

'Privacy is acknowledged as a fundamental human right. In Australia, the Privacy Act 1988 deals with your information privacy rights and how organisations and agencies must handle your personal information...'

'A number of Australian laws other than the Privacy Act 1988 relate to privacy. These laws generally require the Australian Information Commissioner to do certain duties or activities, or require certain agencies to consult with the Australian Information Commissioner on privacy matters...'

'Your consumer data contains your personal information and is valuable. A range of measures are in place to keep your data secure and protect your privacy when using the Consumer Data Right (CDR)...'

his Privacy Policy sets out how we handle personal information that is collected for the purpose of the production of official statistics, consistent with the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This policy covers personal information collected through ABS surveys and 'Censuses, and data acquired by the ABS from other organisations. It also includes records of any contact we have made with you in the course of collecting this data...'

'This Privacy Statement provides privacy information for the 2021 Census of Population and Housing (the Census). The statement supports the ABS Privacy Policy for Statistical Information which outlines in detail how the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) protects your personal information...'

'This policy outlines how personal information collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) or shared with the ABS by data custodian agencies will be treated as part of the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP)...'

'Under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme any organisation or agency the Privacy Act 1988 covers must notify affected individuals and the OAIC when a data breach is likely to result in serious harm to an individual whose personal information is involved...'

'What can be done to protect personal information?'

'Shifting public sentiment on privacy following several high-profile cyber-attacks has accelerated legislative changes, culminating in the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Act 2022 (the Act), the provisions of which have now commenced..'

'Queenslanders are being encouraged to have their say on a wide range of proposed reforms to the states information privacy and right to information legislation...'

'Some experts say it may be the worst data breach in Australia's history...'

'On 11 January 2021, Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk (Commissioner) issued a determination requiring payment of compensation for non-economic loss to individuals affected by an unauthorised data disclosure incident...'

'Medibank confirms it may be the full trove of hundreds of thousands of customers’ private records that were stolen from the health insurer..'

'Three law firms have joined forces to launch a data breach legal case against health insurance company Medibank.This comes after the personal data of about 9.7 million customers was leaked by hackers last year...'

'Australia ranked as the worst country in the world for data breaches over the September quarter, with an average 22 accounts being hacked every minute, new data has revealed...'

'Data breaches in Australia are on the rise, particularly in the financial and healthcare industries. In an effort to disrupt this pernicious trend, the Australian government is revising its cybersecurity frameworks and policies to strengthen resilience against nation-state threat actors...'

'The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) periodically publishes statistical information about notifications received under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme to help entities and the public understand privacy risks identified through the scheme. This report captures notifications made under the NDB scheme from 1 January to 30 June 2022...'

'If you're an Australian business reading this, there's a 30% chance you will suffer a data breach. Such cutthroat statistics, as uncomfortable as they are to read, are important to be aware of if you want to avoid becoming one...'

'Latest reports and statistics...'

'The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) have released their bi-annual report, for January to June 2022, on Notifiable Data Breaches, which provides insight into the leading sources of data breaches and emerging issues and areas for ongoing attention by regulated entities...'