In a swift follow up to an
announcement on September 28, 2016 by the Commonwealth
Attorney-General, a bill has been introduced into the Senate to
amend the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) to introduce
prohibitions on the re-identification of de-identified government
information. A copy of the Privacy Amendment (Re-Identification
Offence) Bill 2016 (Cth) (Re-identification Bill) is available
here, along with a copy of the explanatory memorandum.
The Re-identification Bill prohibits the re-identification or
attempted re-identification of de-identified information released
by, or on behalf of, Commonwealth Government agencies, as well as
prohibiting the disclosure of any such re-identified personal
information. If the Re-identification Bill is passed in its present
form, re-identification of previously de-identified government
information will be a criminal offence that can incur up to two
years in prison or a fine of A$21,600. Alternatively, the same
conduct
