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ARTICLE · 13 SEPTEMBER 2021

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COVID-19 privacy principles for handling personal data

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Commonwealth and State Privacy Commissioners issued a joint set of privacy principles to support a consistent approach.

AustraliaPrivacy
Lyn Nicholson
Lyn Nicholson
Georgia Milne
Georgia Milne
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COVID-19 and health information (including vaccination status) have been key topics of importance in recent months, but there has been much discussion and little guidance until now. On 2 September 2021, the Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner and the State Information and Privacy Commissioners and ombudsmen issued a joint set of privacy principles to support a nationally consistent approach.

While these "universal" privacy principles will support a consistent approach and provide a useful touchpoint for policymakers enacting laws or rules that involve the handling of personal information, we know that, to date, there has been a lot of confusion and certainly a lot of overlap in different rules.

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This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.

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