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Home :: ALRC inquiries :: Summary by title of final report :: ALRC 12 & ALRC 22 summariesOutline of the reports
ALRC 12
ALRC 12 reported that the aim of the census was to produce valid statistical information for use by governments, by industry and by voluntary organisations in planning and in making decisions that affect the welfare of all Australians.
The report concluded that there were enormous benefits to be gained from the information in the census, however the report recognised that public concerns were valid as existing law only provided haphazard protection for personal information.
ALRC 22
ALRC 22 outlined that privacy was in danger actually and, even more so, prospectively.
The report described the chief sources of danger in terms of growing official powers, new business practices and new information technology.
The report concluded that carefully designed legal responses were needed to provide:
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a focus for public anxieties, concerns and complaints about interferences with privacy;
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a means for investigation, conciliation and resolution of at least some of the chief causes of concern and complaint;
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certain enforceable rules in key areas where individual privacy needs particular attention; and
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a body to monitor developments and evaluate the operation of privacy protection laws.