First phase of privacy law reform passes – what's next?

The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (Bill), introduced in September, was passed by both Houses of Parliament on 29 November 2024. This marks the beginning of the first tranche of reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), following the government's response in 2023 to the proposals arising from the Privacy Act Review.

Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, 23 of the first 25 'agreed' proposals will be implemented. For businesses, the most important changes include:

• the introduction of a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy to give individuals the right to seek compensation, with non-economic damages capped at $478,550
• new powers for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to issue infringement notices for privacy breaches (bypassing the courts) and conduct public inquiries to call-out corporate behaviour that, while not unlawful, warrants public attention