Access to court and tribunal records
Individuals’ access and correction rights35.83 In Chapter 29, the ALRC recommends that the ‘Access and Correction’ principle in the model UPPs provide that, if an agency holds personal information about an individual, the individual concerned is entitled to have access to that personal information, except to the extent that the agency is required or authorised …
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Read moreRationale for the exemption of the intelligence and defence intelligence agencies
34.14 The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), the main body charged with oversight of the intelligence and defence intelligence agencies, has stated that one of the reasons why the Australian intelligence agencies should be exempt, or partially exempt, from the provisions of the Privacy Act is that ‘it is necessary for the agencies to …
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Read moreInspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Background34.110 The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is an independent statutory office within the Prime Minister’s portfolio. The IGIS was set up under the IGIS Act to ensure that certain intelligence and security agencies conduct their activities within the law, behave with propriety, comply with ministerial guidelines and directions, and have regard to human …
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Read moreComplexity of the exemption provisions
33.54 Some commentators have argued that the exemption provisions in the Privacy Act are overly complex.[106] Such complexity sometimes makes it difficult to determine the extent to which individuals and entities are exempt from the Act. 33.55 Certain agencies are, in effect, completely exempt from the operation of the Privacy Act—but this may not always …
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Read moreLocation of the exemption provisions
33.64 The exemptions from the Privacy Act are contained in a number of provisions throughout the Act, including ss 6C–7C, 12A, 12B, 13A–13D and 16E. Setting out these exemptions together in one part of the Act arguably would make the exemption provisions more accessible. For example, exemptions under the FOI Act are set out in …
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Read moreShould there be any exemptions from the Privacy Act?
33.23 Before examining whether the existing exemptions from the operation of the Privacy Act are appropriate, the threshold question is whether the Act should contain any exemptions at all. Professor Roger Clarke has suggested that there should be no exemptions from the privacy principles. In his view, privacy principles should be universal statements that convey …
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Read moreThe number and scope of exemptions
The number of exemptions33.37 The Privacy Act has been criticised for the large number of exemptions it contains.[67] In the public sector, there are three classes of agencies—federal courts, ministers and royal commissions—and more than 20 specific, named agencies that are partially or completely exempt from the operation of the Act. In the private sector, …
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Read more‘Accountability’ principle
Background32.3 Accountability principles provide a framework through which requirements for the handling of personal information can be enforced. Most commonly, accountability principles require a regulated entity to identify a person or persons who will take responsibility for that entity’s compliance. For example, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy …
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Read more‘Prevention of Harm’ principle
Background32.17 There is a question about whether the model UPPs should contain a ‘Prevention of Harm’ principle. Such a provision would require agencies and organisations ‘to prevent tangible harms to individuals and to provide for appropriate recovery for those harms if they occur’.[20]32.18 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Privacy Framework,[21] for example, states:Recognizing the interests of …
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Read more‘No Disadvantage’ principle
Background32.23 During the course of the Inquiry, stakeholders suggested that a ‘No Disadvantage’ principle or provision should be included in the Privacy Act. That is, a provision prohibiting agencies and organisations from unfairly disadvantaging an individual on the basis that he or she is seeking to assert his or her privacy rights. In the context …
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