Credit: Jose Fontano via Unsplash
Consultation is underway on the next phase of Australia’s long-awaited privacy reforms.
The first major update to the Privacy Act in more than a decade took effect last year, but key reforms have yet to land.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the Albanese government is committed to protecting the privacy of all Australians.
“This is why in our first term, we delivered an ambitious initial tranche of privacy reform through the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024,” she told AdNews.
“The government is continuing work on a further tranche of reforms, to ensure Australia’s privacy laws are fit for purpose in the digital age and meet the community's expectations.
“The second tranche of reforms will be introduced following targeted stakeholder consultation on draft provisions.”
The Attorney-General’s Department released a report with 116 recommendations in 2023.
The first iteration of the revised Privacy Act then landed in December 2024.
The bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament, criminalised doxxing.
It also addressed areas such as children’s safety and information sharing in the case of an emergency.
However, the opening tranche of reforms left much to be desired for the advertising industry.
The next wave is expected to contain new rules on first and third-party data collection, an updated definition of personal information and the introduction of a ‘fair and reasonable test’.
It remains unclear whether the second tranche of reforms are still on track to be rolled out by the end of this year.
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