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ARTICLE · 31 OCTOBER 2024

First Tranche Of Australia's Much Anticipated Privacy Law Reforms Revealed

Jones Day
Jones Day
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The Situation: The first wave of Australia's expansive privacy law reforms has been introduced into Federal Parliament in the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth) ("Bill").

AustraliaPrivacy
Lisa M. Ropple
Lisa M. Ropple
John Emmerig
John Emmerig
Michael Legg
Michael Legg
Daniel Moloney
Daniel Moloney
Mauricio Paez
Mauricio Paez
Adam Salter
Adam Salter
Holly Sara
Holly Sara
Undine Von Diemar
Undine Von Diemar
Lisa Mundos
Lisa Mundos
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In Short

The Situation: The first wave of Australia's expansive privacy law reforms has been introduced into Federal Parliament in the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth) ("Bill").

The Result: The Bill seeks to implement several legislative proposals to which the government "agreed" in its Response to the Attorney-General's Privacy Act Review Report ("Privacy Act Review Report"). If passed, it will introduce a range of new enforcement tools for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ("OAIC"), and a significant new statutory cause of action: the tort of serious invasion of privacy.

Looking Ahead: The long-awaited reforms to Australia's privacy laws are now underway. The Bill is expected to pass in the coming months and the government is also expected to introduce a further bill to implement the remaining "agreed" proposals from the Privacy Act Review Report in due course. Companies need to act now to begin preparing

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