Privacy laws in New South Wales

Protection of privacy is an ever-growing area of concern in the digital age. While there is no current tort for breach of privacy, there are statutory provisions which govern the collection, use and disclosure of private information.

Commonwealth Legislation

Commonwealth agencies and organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million are covered under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ('the Privacy Act'). Under the Privacy Act, an 'organisation' includes a sole trader, body corporate, company, trust and others. It doesn't cover:

• state or territory government agencies;
• an individual acting in their own capacity (including your neighbours);
• a university, other than a private university and the Australian National University;