ACCAN has made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into the protection of privacy in the digital era. The inquiry examined how a proposed introduction of a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy might be designed.

A statutory cause of action would allow individuals to sue for a serious invasion of privacy. In the past litigants have used other causes of action, such as trespass or breach of confidence to prevent unauthorised disclosure of private information

ACCAN supports a statutory cause of action for invasions of privacy in situations for which there are currently very limited avenues of redress for consumers. This would allow consideration of the emotional and psychological distress and harm caused by particularly breaches of privacy, such as in some cases of 'sexting', for example.

Download: Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era89.12 KB

Download: Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era391.98 KB