Privacy Review 2023-2024
The last 12 months have been a big year for privacy. The Australian Government introduced the first tranche of reforms to implement a number of the recommendations from the Attorney-General’s Department’s Privacy Act Review Report, with further reforms to follow; and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner signalled an ongoing focus on regulatory action where it identifies non-compliance.
In this guide, we summarise key incidents and developments from the last year and highlight areas to watch in coming months.
Timeline of Australia's key privacy events in 2023-2024
13 September 2023
Administrative Appeals Tribunal publishes HYYL and Privacy Commissioner [2023] AATA 2961.
28 September 2023
Australian Government releases its response to the Privacy Act Review Report.
27 November 2023
Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP announces the appointment of Carly Kind as Privacy Commissioner, reinstating the standalone position.
22 February 2024
OAIC releases its Notifiable Data Breaches Report: July to December 2023.
21 May 2024
ACCC releases its eighth interim report for the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, shining a spotlight on the supply of data products and services by data firms in Australia.
27 May 2024
ASX releases its updated guidance on data breach continuous disclosure obligations for ASX-listed companies.
12 September 2024
Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 introduced into Federal Parliament.
16 September 2024
OAIC releases its Notifiable Data Breaches Report: January to June 2024.
On 12 September 2024, the Attorney-General introduced the highly anticipated amendments to the *Privacy Act 1988* (Cth) to the Australian Federal Parliament.
The recent findings of a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal into the practices of facial recognition software service Clearview provide valuable insights into the extra-territorial application of the Privacy Act.
