Australian Fair Pay Commission
Background36.5 Section 7(1) of the Privacy Act provides that an agency listed in sch 1 of the FOI Act is exempt from the operation of the Privacy Act, except in respect of matters of an administrative nature.[5] One of the agencies listed under sch 1 of the FOI Act is the Australian Fair Pay Commission …
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Read moreFederal courts
Scope of the current exemption35.4 Australian federal courts—including the High Court, the Federal Court, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Family Court[1]—fall within the definition of ‘agency’ in the Privacy Act.[2] They are covered by the Act, however, only in respect of those of their acts and practices that relate to matters ‘of an administrative …
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Read moreFederal tribunals
Background35.31 Except for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), federal tribunals are not exempt from the operation of the Privacy Act. Before considering whether they should be exempt, the threshold issue is which agencies fall within the term ‘federal tribunal’. This issue arises because the term ‘tribunal’ is imprecise and difficult to define.[44] Some legislative …
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Read moreAccess 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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