Halfway or Half-Hearted? An Overview of the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (CTH)

Abstract

In December 2012, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (CTH). The Amendment Act contains the first (of two) stages of long-anticipated reforms in response to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) report, For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice. The government's decision to implement the reforms in two stages has caused delays and led some observers to believe that the government is half-hearted about the reform agenda.

The Act introduces the Australian Privacy Principles, creates a new credit reporting regime, contains new provisions for Codes of Conduct, and provides new powers for the Australian Privacy Commissioner. This note provides a critical overview of these changes. It also concludes that law reformers need to remain vigilant to ensure that the reform process does not stop halfway and that the next Australian government commits to completing the task of creating well-balanced and effective protections in Australia.

Keywords: Privacy law, law reform, credit reporting