Upcoming Mallesons seminarsOn 27 October, Federal Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis released an issues paper, requesting submissions from industry and the public on the private sector provisions of the Act, which commenced in December 2001.
The issues paper, and details of stakeholder forums to be conducted by the Privacy Commissioner, are available at: www.privacy.gov.au/act/review/index.html#is
The due date for submissions is 22 December 2004.
Scope of review
The scope of the review is very broad and the issues paper is a substantial document of 54 pages plus appendices.
The review invites comments on wide-ranging aspects of the private sector provisions, and invites comments on areas that have not been specifically raised in the paper.
However, the terms of reference exclude consideration of privacy issues relating to genetic information, employee records, children's records and electoral roll information.
Strengthen or weaken?
For business, the most important issue that will come out of the review is whether the result is a strengthening of the current model - leading to additional implementation and compliance costs, or a relaxation of some requirements - especially those that lead to administrative overhead with little benefit to consumers.
Key issues
The following key issues might be considered in submissions:
- Can there be harmonisation of the many forms of regulation that apply to privacy issues under Commonwealth and State laws and the general law?
- Does the Act make adequate concessions for the need to move personal information between members of corporate groups?
- Is the direct marketing exception too restrictive?
- Do the costs of compliance outweigh the benefits of the Act?
- What is protected that should not be?
- Is it clear enough that outsource arrangements are not hindered by the Act?
- Privacy consents: is clarification of the rules needed?
How can we help?
We have extensive expertise in advising on privacy laws and regulatory change processes. We can help you in drafting a submission on the issues paper and in advising generally on proposed changes.
CONTACTS
For further enquiries, please contact:
SYDNEY
Philip Argy
Partner
T +61 2 9296 2054
philip.argy@mallesons.com
Andrea Beatty
Partner
T +61 2 9296 2068
andrea.beatty@mallesons.com
Patrick Gunning
Partner
T +61 2 9296 2170
patrick.gunning@mallesons.com
Andrew Smith
Partner
T +61 2 9296 2322
andrew.smith@mallesons.com
MELBOURNE
Katherine Forrest
Partner
T +61 3 9643 4129
katherine.forrest@mallesons.com
Ros Grady
Partner
T +61 3 9643 4143
ros.grady@mallesons.com
Lisa Huett
Partner
T +61 3 9643 4163
lisa.huett@mallesons.com
Cheng Lim
Partner
T +61 3 9643 4193
cheng.lim@mallesons.com
BRISBANE
Michael McCafferty
Partner
T +61 7 3244 8072
michael.mccafferty@mallesons.com
John Swinson
Partner
T +61 7 3244 8050
john.swinson@mallesons.com
Craig Wappett
Partner
T +61 7 3244 8089
craig.wappett@mallesons.com
CANBERRA
Stephen Skehill
Special Counsel
T +61 2 6217 6084
stephen.skehill@mallesons.com