Further processes

1.107 Under s 23 of the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (Cth), reports presented to the Attorney-General must be tabled in Parliament within 15 sitting days, after which they become public documents. This Report is not a self-executing documentthe ALRC provides advice and recommendations about the best way to proceed, but implementation always is a matter for the Government and others to whom recommendations are directed.[102]

1.108 The ALRC’s earlier report on privacy contained draft legislation, which formed the basis of the Privacy Act. Such draft legislation was typical of the law reform effort in those times. The ALRC’s practice has changed, however, and draft bills are not produced unless specifically called for by the Terms of Reference. This is partly because drafting is a specialised function better left to the legislative drafting experts, and partly in recognition of the fact that the ALRC’s time and resources are better directed towards developing the policy settings that will shape any resulting legislation.

1.109 The ALRC has not been asked to produce draft legislation in this Inquiry; however, the ALRC has drafted model UPPs—discussed in detail in Part D—to serve as a guide for the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which ultimately will have the task of redrafting the Privacy Act in accordance with those recommendations accepted by Government.

[102] The ALRC has a strong record of having its advice followed. About 59% of the ALRC’s previous reports have been fully or substantially implemented, about 29% of reports have been partially implemented, 4% of reports are under consideration and 8% have had no implementation to date.