On 29 November 2024, the Australian Senate passed the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth) (the Privacy Act Bill). This follows the passage of the Cyber Security Act 2024 (Cth), and other cyber-security related amendments, on 25 November 2024.
The majority of the amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) will
Continue Reading Australia: Privacy Act amendments and Cyber Security Act become law
“Ethically challenging” and “the most intrusive option” – these are some of the words Australia’s Privacy Commissioner used to describe facial recognition technology (FRT), and its use by national hardware retailer Bunnings.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has released the findings of its much-awaited investigation into the use of FRT
Continue Reading Australia: In-Store Facial Recognition Tech Breached Privacy Act
It has been a busy month for cyber and privacy regulation in Australia. On the heels of the proposed amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 released just under a month ago (see our summary here), three further draft Bills relating to cyber security were released this week.
The key takeaways from the new Bills
Continue Reading Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy in action – three new draft laws published
Cyber regulation is changing in Australia. As governments globally grapple with the everchanging and increasingly challenging cyber landscape, Australia is poised to implement new laws and update existing regulation in order to enhance Australia’s cyber security and resilience. These changes fall within the framework established by the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, which aims to
Continue Reading Australia: Anti-scam measures and ransomware reporting on the agenda
On 1 July 2024, Australia’s spam regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (AMCA), released a Statement of Expectations setting out its requirements for customer consent in the context of direct marketing.
The ACMA has consistently demonstrated a clear intolerance for breaches of the spam requirements, penalising business with over AUD 15 million
Continue Reading Australia’s e-marketing expectations: When customers don’t give a spamThe next steps in Australia’s long bubbling reform of the privacy regime has been announced, with draft legislation expected to be tabled by August 2024. The reform is being presented as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to improve online safety, particularly for women, but it’s not clear how broad its remit will be at
Continue Reading Australia: Privacy Act Updates Expected in August 2024
We (finally) have more clarity as to the next steps in the long-awaited reform of the Australian Privacy Act.
As we noted back in February this year (see here), the Attorney-General’s Department recommended a number of changes to Australia’s core privacy regime, which saw its last major overhaul in 2014.
The Australian Government
Continue Reading Australia – next stages in the Privacy Act review confirmed
