Privacy Annual Update 2022

The furore surrounding the Optus data breach has revealed how quickly a cyber security incident can become a story about privacy - and the adequacy of privacy protections - in the digital age.

Clearly, its impact will ripple through the wider Privacy Act reform process. The Attorney-General has indicated that certain reforms may be accelerated and passed before the end of 2022 (and, if not, early in 2023). The priority reforms could include higher maximum penalties, enhanced security safeguards and stronger requirements for companies to notify customers of breaches.

We will naturally keep a close watch on this area and provide further updates when additional details of future reform proposals become available.

In this update (prepared before the Optus breach came to light) we look at:

• the current status of the Privacy Act reform process and key highlights from submissions made so far in response to the most recent Discussion Paper

• several significant privacy-related decisions from the past year – both in Australia and overseas – which shed useful light on some important and thorny issues

• rules on cross-border data transfer, with perspectives from Europe and China about how new compliance requirements are creating ongoing challenges for multinational businesses looking to share data across jurisdictions. 

We hope you enjoy this year’s update. As always, if you would like to understand how any of the issues discussed below may affect your organisation, please get in touch with one of KWM’s privacy experts.

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