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ARTICLE · 12 JUNE 2021

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The future of privacy laws in Queensland

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Queensland government agencies should review standard privacy terms in their template or frequently used agreements.

AustraliaPrivacy
Helen Clarke
Helen Clarke
Viva Swords
Viva Swords
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Momentum is building for an overhaul of Queensland's privacy laws. Changes have been recommended by the 2017 review of the Information Privacy Act (Qld) and the Crime and Corruption Commission's 2020 report on misuse of confidential information in the Queensland public sector, but no legislation to give effect to the amendments has yet been introduced.

Queensland's privacy regulator, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) has recently petitioned the federal government to align federal privacy laws with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and will no doubt be looking for the same changes in Queensland laws.

What is the state of Queensland's privacy laws?

The Information Privacy Act was passed in 2009 to introduce privacy obligations applicable to Queensland government departments and agencies. It reflected the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) and National Privacy Principles (NPPs) in place under the federal Privacy Act at that time.

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