The main Australian statute dealing with privacy is the
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). While the Privacy Act
applies to most Australian federal government agencies and most
private organisations, it does not provide comprehensive privacy
protection for Australians. The Privacy Act does not apply
to a number of groups, including small businesses with an annual
turnover of less than $3 million, political organisations, media
organisations, and individual citizens acting in their personal,
family or household affairs. For those bodies falling within the
scope of the Privacy Act, they must abide by the 13
'Australian Privacy Principles' established by the
Privacy Act.
The Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth)
("Telco Act") also contains some data
protection provisions. These provisions stipulate the way carriers,
carriage service providers and other bodies must use and disclose
personal information obtained during the supply of
telecommunication services. It is an offence under
