The Federal Government will soon introduce into Parliament major
legislative reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy
Act), according to an announcement made by the Attorney-General,
Nicola Roxon during Privacy Awareness Week earlier this month.
The Attorney-General emphasised that the reforms will include
changes intended to benefit consumers, including changes to:
- Strengthen protections for personal information
- Enhance the powers of the Australian Privacy Commissioner
- Modernise credit reporting arrangements.
The announcement acknowledged that the reforms represent
'the culmination of an extensive consultation process'.
Most recently, that process saw the release of reports and
recommendations last year by the Senate Finance and Public
Administration Committee (Committee) on exposure drafts of
amendments relating to: