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ARTICLE · 18 JUNE 2020

Privacy of employees and others in 2020

Holding Redlich
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COVID-19 may cause conflict between sharing information to protect public health and protecting privacy of individuals.

AustraliaPrivacy
Lyn Nicholson
Lyn Nicholson
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Privacy of employees and others in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced privacy regulators around the world to issue guidance to organisations about what information can be released to protect public health without breaching or otherwise adversely impacting the privacy of individuals.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued initial guidance on 16 March and the Australian regulator, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) released on 18 March 2020 a guide to understanding the privacy obligations owed to staff (accessible here).

This guidance centred around the balancing of public health issues such as notifying health authorities and others if any individual with a risk of COVID-19 had been on the premises, and also the ability to contact and warn others who had been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19.

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This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.

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