Major privacy reforms
The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act
2012 (Cth) (the Act), which amends the
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act), implements
wholesale reforms to the Australian privacy protection framework.
The amendments implemented by the Act will come into force 15
months after the Act receives royal assent, after which time the
new privacy regime will apply equally to Australian Government
agencies and private organisations alike.
Key reforms include a new set of 13 Australian Privacy
Principles (APPs) to replace the current
Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) for the
public sector and National Privacy Principles
(NPPs) for the private sector. The Act also
confers expanded powers on the Australian Information Commissioner
and updates the current credit reporting system to allow more
comprehensive credit reporting with improved privacy protections
for individuals.
