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ARTICLE · 17 FEBRUARY 2020

Government to enhance data privacy and protection to regulate the digital age

Gilchrist Connell
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The Treasury plans to improve consumer protection and rights under, and increase penalties for breaches of, privacy laws.

AustraliaPrivacy
Nitesh Patel
Nitesh Patel
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On 12 December 2019, the Treasury, as part of its response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Digital Platforms Inquiry final report (DPI Report), made commitments to improve consumer protection and rights under, and increase the penalties for breaches of, privacy laws.

The measures set out in the response to the DPI Report come on the back of, and tie in with, the Federal Government's announcement in March 2019 of its plans to reform the Privacy Act to increase maximum penalties, introduce new powers for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), as well as increase funding to the OAIC.

The March 2019 Announcement

On 25 March 2019, the Government in a joint media release stated that

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