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Australia: Protection of Australians' in the digital age - an overview of AG's Privacy Act report

March 16, 2023
Summary

The Australian Attorney-General's Department's Privacy Act Review Final Report suggests 116 reforms to the Privacy Act 1988, aiming to enhance privacy protections in the digital age. Key recommendations include broadening the definition of personal information, clarifying consent, mandating record-keeping for data collection purposes, restricting targeted marketing, and removing small business and employee records exemptions. The Report also proposes tighter data breach notification timelines, the introduction of Privacy Impact Assessments for high-risk activities, and the adoption of 'controller' and 'processor' roles similar to the GDPR. New individual rights and stronger enforcement powers are also recommended, with a call for feedback on the Report by 31 March 2023.

The Report provides important insights into the future direction of the Privacy Act and represents a significant shift towards robust privacy protections and greater accountability for organisations that handle personal information. It is expected that these recommendations will lead to reforms that change the way businesses and organisations handle privacy. This article highlights the key recommendations that businesses should become familiar with to prepare for the anticipated change. How did we get here? In 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platforms Inquiry2 found that the Privacy Act needed to be bolstered to adequately protect and empower consumers. Thi

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