Introduction

19.1 Consent is not a privacy principle in itself. It is relevant, however, to the operation of some privacy principles, namely those dealing with the collection of sensitive information, use and disclosure, and cross-border data flows. In certain instances, the provision of consent can provide legal authority for an agency or organisation to deal with an individual’s personal information in a particular way.

19.2 This chapter considers consent as it applies to the privacy principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and other issues concerning consent, in particular the use of bundled consent. It considers whether the definition of ‘consent’ in the Privacy Act should be amended or be the subject of more detailed guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). Finally, the chapter canvasses whether the model Unified Privacy Principles (UPPs) should contain a separate principle dealing with consent.