Private Member´s Bill Proposes To Protect ´Personally Identifiable Information´

The Privacy Protection for Off-shoring Bill 2007, a private member's Bill, was introduced into the House of Representatives on 18 June 2007. The Bill proposes to amend the Trade Practices Act 1974 by regulating the transmission of 'personally identifiable information' for processing outside Australia.

Specifically, the Bill would insert new provisions into the Trade Practices Act to:

• make it a strict liability offence for a corporation, which discloses a consumer's personally identifiable information to any branch, affiliate, subcontractor, or unaffiliated third party outside of Australia, except in some circumstances;

• outline new notice requirements for a corporation intending to send personally identifiable information to an overseas body; and