Privacy & Cybersecurity Update Issue 3 | October 2014 - Australia And New Zealand

Australian Law Reform Commission Proposes Changes to Australian Privacy Laws Regarding Serious Invasions of Privacy
The Australian Law Reform Commission recently released a report that was commissioned by the Attorney General of Australia on "Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era." The report recommends that a statutory civil cause of action for serious invasions of privacy be introduced in a Commonwealth Act. The proposed cause of action would be actionable only where (i) the invasion of privacy is serious; (ii) the invasion is committed intentionally or recklessly (with mere negligence being insufficient); (iii) the invasion is either by intrusion into an individual's private space or by misuse of private information; (iv) an objective person in the position of the plaintiff would have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the circumstances; and (v) the public interest in upholding privacy outweighs other public interests.