The Privacy Act 1988 (The Act) is the principal Law in Australia that aims to safeguard the handling of personal information about individuals. Yet, it has failed to keep pace with the rapid changes of how businesses run and how technology has advanced. These changes have exposed more weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the Act that need urgent attention, so it can be fit for purpose.
To properly protect the privacy and control of Australians' personal information, the law must consider how data and algorithms are used and what privacy means in today's world. Privacy issues are interconnected with other digital issues, so we must think beyond just keeping personal and sensitive data safe, but also deal with how we address harmful online content, including mis- and disinformation, the challenges that journalism and news media face and the growing polarisation and lack of trust among people in society.
Creating the right legal and technological safeguards for privacy and control over personal information helps protect not just individuals but more broadly, society and democracy because of the interconnected nature of data and privacy.
At the Centre, we have been actively involved in the wide-ranging discussion and engagement around privacy law reform with industry, academia, and communities. You can download our submissions to the Attorney-General's department here:
Our submission to the Issues Paper on 28 November 2020
Our submission to the Discussion Paper on 24 January 2022
Research Associate David Lindsay's submission to the Discussion Paper on 21 January 2022
Our submission to Privacy Act Review Report on 31 March 2023