Privacy Reforms – The Impact On Due Diligence Process

If you are buying or selling a business you should be aware of the new privacy law reforms and how they impact on the due diligence process which is conducted to enable buyers to examine the business of the seller.

The Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") has released its final report titled 'For your information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice' ("Final Report"), recommending, amongst other things, the removal of the employee records exemption and the small business exemption from the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ("the Act").

Should the government remove the employee records exemption, employee information would come under the protection of the Act. This has implications for vendors and purchasers buying or selling a business, who disclose and collect a number of different types of personal information about employees in the process of due diligence.