[LINK] Short Summary of the Privacy Amendments

[Roger Clarke]

The Privacy Awareness Week addresses by the AG and PC'er earlier this 
week could have misled people into thinking that the recent changes 
to the Privacy Act are privacy-positive.

As an antidote to such suggestions, the following extracts from 
Waters & Greenleaf (2013) show how the amendments to the Privacy Act 
that come into force in March 2014 are seriously privacy-*hostile*.

1.  Commissioner's Powers

The most positive aspect of the Amendment Act is the additional 
enforcement powers given to the Privacy Commissioner.  [However], 
these improvements to enforcement powers do not deal directly with 
the key problem of the existing Privacy Act.  [Hence] the new right 
of appeal may turn out to be of little use.

2.  Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)

None of the thirteen APPs is an overall improvement on the previous 
principles and 8 of the 13 APPs are worse for privacy protection.

3.  Data Export 'Restrictions'

An Australian company or agency will be able to send personal 
information anywhere in the world (subject to APP 6 concerning use 
and disclosure).  It may be completely exempt from any liability 
(under nine separate exceptions) for what then happens to the 
information.  The purported 'accountability' may turn out to be 
fictional.

4.  Direct Marketing

A new Principle (APP7) defines a set of conditions under which 
personal information can be used for direct marketing.  It is in 
effect authorisation for what would otherwise be privacy breaches, 
with some boundaries set at the outer limits of those authorised 
breaches, which might be seen as a very limited form of privacy 
protection.

5.  Credit Marketing

There are some minor enhancements to the credit reporting provisions 
from a consumer perspective but overall the new regime is a major 
loss of financial privacy.

6.  Even More Exemptions

None of the exemptions from the Act have been removed as the ALRC 
recommended, while others have been added.


Source:

Waters, Nigel and Greenleaf, Graham , Australia's 2012 Privacy Act 
Revisions: Weaker Principles, More Powers (April 15, 2013). Privacy 
Laws & Business International Report Issue 121, February 2013, 12-13; 
UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2013-27. Available at SSRN: 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2252569

Greenleaf, G and Waters, N 'Australia's Privacy Bill 2012: Weaker 
principles, stronger enforcement' Privacy Laws & Business 
International Report, Issue 118: 16-18, July 2012, at 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2129626

Waters, N and Greenleaf, G 'A critique of Australia's proposed 
Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012', 
Australian Privacy Foundation, 2012, at
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2134838 and 
http://www.privacy.org.au/Papers/PAmmtBill-SPLA-120803.pdf


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University