Commercial Law

Privacy and Data Protection

Privacy protection in Australia is becoming increasingly important. Individuals living in the digital age want to have some control, choice and understanding of how governments and businesses handle their personal information.

The most significant reforms since its inception in 1988, the Privacy Act (Cth) has recently been amended with sweeping changes that will come into effect on the 12th of March 2014. 13 new Australian Privacy Principles will apply uniformly to government and businesses with an annual turnover in excess of $3 million, as well as credit reporting agencies and health service providers.

The new laws contain far stronger obligations on organisations to have a privacy policy, who must now properly disclose to the public the type of personal information collected, how it’s being used, who has access to it and how it is stored. The Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner has been given extensive powers to undertake performance assessments and issue fines of up to $1.7 million to businesses who fail to comply with the changes.