Australian Government Response
On 11 August 2008, Senator John Faulkner, the then Special Minister for State and Cabinet Secretary, announced that the Australian Government would respond to For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice (ALRC 108) in two stages.
The Australian Government issued the first stage of its response to For Your Information on 14 October 2009. The first stage of the response addresses 197 of the 295 recommendations in the ALRC report. These recommendations relate to:
- the name, structure, objects, definitions and scope of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth);
- developing technology;
- interaction, inconsistency and fragmentation in the regulation of personal information in Australia;
- the privacy principles;
- the powers and functions of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner;
- credit reporting; and
- health services.
The Australian Government accepted the majority of those recommendations. The remaining 98 recommendations will be considered in stage two of the Government's response.