There have been recent changes at both federal and state level which have increased the protection of a patient’s privacy through provisions dealing with the collection, storage and control of information. The legislature is continually striving to achieve the fine balance between an individual’s right to confidentiality against the disclosure of such information to a third party.
At federal level, the national privacy principles and information privacy principles are codified in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) which covers the collection, storage, security use and disclosure of personal information. These principles apply to private organisations, individuals and government agencies.
At state level, patients may obtain access to their records by using freedom of information legislation. At state level, such privacy legislation does not apply to private facilities or doctors in private practice. In Victoria, the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic) applies to public sector agencies
