Privacy: can I have the same access to my information as law enforcement agencies?

A journalist takes on Telstra

After almost two years of persistence, in a decision handed down on the 4^th of May 2015, Telstra was ordered to provide Fairfax journalist Ben Grubb with access to certain metadata Telstra held relating to him. The Privacy Commissioner had determined that Telstra breached the Privacy Act in initially refusing Mr Grubb access to this metadata.

This decision of the Privacy Commissioner has confirmed that metadata can be 'Personal Information', and must be treated in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

More importantly, the ruling has determined that each element of metadata, no matter how obscure and unintelligible on its own, will become Personal Information if it can be pieced together so that an individual's identity can be reasonably ascertained. The cost and the effort of doing so are not necessarily an impediment to this.