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ARTICLE · 24 FEBRUARY 2025

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Serious invasion of privacy and small business

Bartier Perry Solicitors
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Changes that now allow individuals to take direct legal action if they experience serious invasions of their privacy.

AustraliaPrivacy
Michael Cossetto
Michael Cossetto
Jason Sprague
Jason Sprague
Juan Roldan
Juan Roldan
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On 10 December 2024, federal parliament passed the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Act). This move comes almost two years after a review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) by the Attorney-General's Department.

The reforms are designed to strengthen existing privacy protections in Australia. In this article, we highlight the changes that now allow individuals to take direct legal action if they experience serious invasions of their privacy. We also discuss how the reforms might affect small businesses, particularly those not currently covered by the Privacy Act, and what steps they should take.

The new rules relating to serious invasion of privacy are due to take effect on 10 June 2025 unless another date is fixed by federal parliament beforehand. Importantly, serious invasion of privacy covers more than just 'personal information', which is the phrase used in the Privacy Act that is narrower in scope than 'private information'.

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