Australia: Closed consultation on Attorney General Privacy Act Review Report

On 31 March 2023, the Australian Attorney General (AG) closed its consultation on the Privacy Act Review Report. The consultation period was opened on 16 February 2023, when the AG published the Privacy Act Review Report. The Report followed the October 2021 Discussion Paper and the 2020 Issues Paper on the same matter. The Report contains a series of proposals for the reform of the Privacy Act. The Report proposes a broader definition of personal information with any information relating to an individual being considered personal information. The Report also proposes changes to existing exemptions to privacy obligations, including removing the exemption for small businesses. The Report further proposes changes to privacy protection, including introducing a 'fair and reasonable' test in relation to the handling of personal information, additional privacy protections for children, creating a number of data subject rights, and introducing a mechanism to facilitate cross-border data transfers to countries with substantially similar data protection regimes. Finally, the Report suggests expanded regulatory and investigatory powers for regulators, as well as new avenues of judicial redress for affected individuals, such as a new tort for serious invasion of privacy.