18 May 2005

Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, today welcomed the release, by the Attorney General, the Hon Philip Ruddock, MP, of her report into the operation of the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act''Getting in on the Act: The Review of the Private Sector Provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.

''This review is the first major examination of the private sector provisions in the Privacy Act since they commenced in December 2001,'' said Ms Curtis.

''While I have made a number of recommendations I believe that there is no fundamental flaw with the private sector provisions in the Privacy Act,'' she said.

''The overall effect is that the National Privacy Principles have worked well and delivered to individuals protection of personal and sensitive information in Australia in those areas covered by the Act.

''The report has drawn on information and views from a wide range of sources including individuals, businesses, industry organisations, consumer representatives, and government agencies across the Commonwealth, states and territories.

''The review has benefited from discussions, consultations and suggestions made in submissions. I thank all those involved for contributing their ideas and views, and for the constructive way in which those views were conveyed.

''The Report contains 85 recommendations stemming from a balanced and pragmatic examination of the Privacy Act, within the terms of reference set by the Attorney General,'' said Ms Curtis.

''The recommendations in the report relate to improving the operation of the private sector provisions and are written as actions the Australian Government should consider doing, or as measures the Office could undertake.

''Of the 136 submissions my Office received, many organisations and consumer representatives agreed that to improve the privacy of all Australians it is important to ensure a nationally consistent privacy scheme.

''The submissions also made it clear that the health sector would particularly benefit from national consistency and I have therefore recommended that a national health code be implemented across federal, state and territory levels.

''Another issue highlighted in many submissions was the need to raise the privacy awareness of organisations and individuals and therefore a number of my recommendations address this issue. Those recommendations, if implemented, would form the ''lynch pin'' of an improved privacy scheme that would benefit individuals while recognising the right of businesses to achieve their objectives in an efficient way.

''Consumer control over personal information, a key feature of the private sector amendments to the Privacy Act, was addressed in the Review. I have recommended that the control that individuals have over their personal information be strengthened, particularly in relation to information collected about them indirectly or used or disclosed for other purposes such as direct marketing.

''Simple steps that could be taken to make this happen include measures to promote clearer and more easily understood privacy notices and a general opt-out right for all direct marketing approaches.

''The report also contains recommendations about the small business exemption with the aim of simplifying its application while suggesting that some sectors that handle large volumes of personal information, such as internet service providers for example, should be covered by the private sector provisions.

''Some recommendations in the report relate to my Office and these include improving the transparency of the complaints process and to enable the Office to better identify and address systemic issues.

''Because of their complexity, the issue of privacy and research, in particular medical research, and privacy and new technologies warrant further debate. The main recommendation on these issues is that they should be considered in the context of a wider review of the Privacy Act.

''During the review, it became apparent that while the private sector provisions work well, it may be appropriate for the Government to undertake a wider review of privacy for Australians in the 21st century.

''Throughout the report, but particularly in the recommendations, there has been careful consideration of the balance between protecting individual rights while recognising the collective needs of the community including the business community.

''I look forward to the debate about the issues raised in the Report,'' said Ms Curtis.

The Report, Getting in on the Act: The Review of the Private Sector Provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 is  now available.