The Federal Government has released the first stage of its response
to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel
Karin Clark and Lawyer Jacqueline Goodall report on the implications for health service providers,
and other bodies that handle health information

The Australian Government has released the first stage of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Nicholas Tobias report on the credit reporting implications of the proposed reforms

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has outlined strict new tactics to deal with companies that are careless with customer or user data. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Luke O’Sullivan report

A proposed new consumer data protection regime will affect all Singapore business sectors, applying a uniform minimum data protection standard to every industry. Senior Associate Jeremy Chase and Lawyer Henry Fraser report.

Individuals could soon gain the right to sue other individuals and companies over serious invasions of privacy if the Federal Government adopts recommendations in a long-awaited issues paper. The issues paper considers the introduction of a statutory cause of action for invasions of privacy and how to strike the right balance between an individual’s right to privacy and other important public interests, such as freedom of expression. Partner Gavin Smith and Law Graduate Rowan Platt explain

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee has released the first part of its report on its inquiry into the legislation giving effect to the new Australian Privacy Principles which, if implemented, may have significant implications for privacy compliance procedures. Partner Dean Carrigan, Special Counsel John Dieckmann, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyer Fiona MacDonald report

Changes proposed to Europe’s data protection regime, along with incoming Australian legislative reform, may pose challenges for Australian companies operating in Europe. Allens Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Nikki Macor and Linklaters Partner Julian Cunningham-Day and Senior Professional Support Lawyer Peter Church report

Amendments to strengthen Australia’s privacy regime will create new penalties, increased requirements for procedures and disclosure, and a revamped credit reporting system and will have significant implications for most companies and government agencies. Partner Michael Pattison, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyers Nikki Macor and Margaret Walsh report.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has made its first determination in response to a complaint since 2004. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Margaret Walsh report on this decision, where an organisation was required to pay damages, issue a written apology and provide privacy training to staff

We recently reported on the easing of US sanctions against Myanmar. In this follow up article, we report on changes to the Australian, EU and Canadian sanctions against Myanmar. Allens Partner Anthony Patten, Linklaters Partner Satindar Dogra and Allens Law Graduate Laura Bellamy provide a brief overview of the changes to these sanctions regimes.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has released a report into Telstra having breached customer privacy in 2011. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Margaret Walsh report on the Privacy Commissioner’s findings, Telstra’s response to the data breaches, and what the matter can teach us about taking ‘reasonable steps’ to comply with the national privacy regime.

After a rocky journey, federal legislation providing a platform for the creation of an online register of electronic health records has been passed. Senior Associate Michael Morris and Lawyer Andy Gian report

The Federal Parliament has passed much anticipated reforms that will have a significant impact on the way companies and government agencies collect and deal with various forms of personal information. Partners Michael Pattison and Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyers Amy Dobbin and Ishwar Singh report.

The Federal Government has introduced amendments to Australia’s telecommunications regulatory regime that will facilitate Australia’s accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. Partner Ian McGill, Senior Associate Valeska Bloch and Lawyer Matthew Tracey examine the impact of these amendments.

A Senate Committee has endorsed changes to privacy law that will have significant implications for most companies and federal agencies. Partners Michael Pattison, Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyer Ishwar Singh report.

Uncertainty as to what information constitutes ‘personal information’ under the Privacy Act will be clarified following the release of guidance from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The guide provides insight into how a complaint may be determined and offers key questions for entities to consider. Partner Michael Park, Senior Associate Alice Williams, Lawyer Leah Wickman and Paralegal Natalie Czapski report.

The Federal Government has taken the first step in fulfilling its promise to introduce a mandatory data breach notification scheme. Under an exposure draft of the proposed legislation companies will be required to notify the Office of the Australian Information Commission and affected individuals of serious data breaches. Companies will need to determine quickly whether a data breach has occurred and the costs associated with complying with this proposed legislation may be significant. Partner Michael Pattison, Senior Associate Alice Williams and Lawyer Leah Wickman report.

In important news for any Australian business that provides goods or services to individuals on deferred payment terms, the long-awaited Credit Reporting Privacy Code has been registered. Partner Michael Pattison and Senior Associate Matt Vitins report on the implications of the credit reporting reforms for businesses generally, and give an update on the status of the related Privacy Act reforms that are soon to take effect.

Cyber insurance has emerged as a multibillion-dollar global industry, safeguarding businesses against financial losses from the explosion of cyber risk. We caught up with Chris Mackinnon, head of Lloyd’s in Australia, to discuss the state of the cyber insurance market in Australia, the challenges of understanding risk exposure, and why responsibility for cyber security should rest with boards.

Allens Partner Michael Morris authored the Australia chapter of The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review. The year ahead is likely to bring increased attention to connected devices, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big-data analytics and predictive algorithms.