The Australian Government announced, on 28 November 2022, that Parliament had approved the Government's Privacy Penalty Bill, namely the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022 ('the 2022 Bill'). In particular, the Government stated that the 2022 Bill significantly increases penalties for repeated or serious privacy breaches by companies which fail to take adequate care of customer data. Furthermore, the Government emphasised that the bill provides the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ('OAIC') with greater powers to resolve privacy breaches and quickly share information about data breaches to help protect impacted customers. Notably, the Gove
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Australia: Parliament passes Government Privacy Penalty Bill
November 30, 2022
Summary
The Australian Parliament passed the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022, which increases penalties for serious or repeated privacy breaches and strengthens the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's (OAIC) powers to address privacy issues. The bill aims to enhance customer data protection and allows the OAIC to share information about data breaches more effectively. The new measures became effective on 13 December 2022, following royal assent, as part of a broader reform of the Privacy Act 1988, which is under final review by the Attorney General's Department.