In Australia cookies are not specifically dealt with under the
privacy law. However, the consequences of using them and the
collection of 'personal information' are regulated by the
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the National
Privacy Principles (NPPs).
In practice most Australian companies are transparent in their
use of cookies, declaring when they are used and providing
information about how to turn them off and the consequences of
doing so. This transparency is combined with an appropriate privacy
policy and compliance with the Privacy Act/NNPs.
However, in Europe there are EU regulations and national laws
that specifically regulate the use of cookies. There have been
significant recent developments in the regulation of cookies in the
EU and I encourage you to read the client alert of my EU colleagues
here for an update on this.
