29 August 2008

The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, and the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, Marie Shroff, have announced the extension of an agreement between their offices. 

"The privacy challenges we face in Australia are not unique," Ms Curtis said.

"There are significant benefits in developing strong and cooperative relationships between regulators in different countries."

Since its signing in 2006, the agreement has enhanced the relationship between the two privacy regulators. Under the agreement, the offices have shared information about surveys, research projects, promotional campaigns, education and training programs and investigative methods. 

The new agreement will deepen the relationship between the two offices through bilateral meetings and sharing information on a broader range of privacy matters.  The agreement is also a practical example of how the recently released OECD Guidelines on Cross-border Cooperation in the Enforcement of Laws Protecting Privacy can be met.

The recommitment to this agreement by the two Commissioners is closely tied to their involvement in the APEC Privacy Framework and the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities forum.

"The agreement has allowed our Offices to share information about important and emerging privacy issues," said Ms Shroff.

"Its success as a cooperative cross-border agreement can be measured by the fact that it has been used as the base document to build a template for privacy regulators within APEC."