The purpose of the Privacy Act is to protect individuals against
the mishandling of personal information about them by organisations
that collect or share that information. Significant changes to the
Act will come into force in March 2014 and are likely to affect you
and your business. These are the most significant changes to
Australian Privacy laws since the current Act was passed in
1988.
Until now, the Act has not taken into account the rise of the
internet and the predominance of online business dealings. Online
banking and billing and electronic marketing did not exist when the
Act was implemented.
Organisations need to ensure that policies and procedures
addressing each of the new Australian Privacy Principles are in
place, to ensure compliance with the updated legislation. It is
essential that you review your privacy policy and data collection
notices prior to March 2014 as the Privacy Commissioner will also
have greater power to conduct assessments of your
