ACCAN’s submission to the Productivity Commission highlights the dire need for reform in Australia’s privacy protections to effectively protect personal information and drive consumer confidence. The reforms outlined in the Privacy Act Review represent a tangible first step to balancing the needs of consumers and enabling more ethical business practices. This will in turn drive good business practices, foster trust in Australia’s digital economy and boost productivity.

ACCAN recommends that the Australian Government commits to advancing the remaining recommendations from the Australian Government’s response to the Privacy Act Review and prioritise the following measures:

• Alter the wording in the definition of personal information to ensure the definition is appropriately confined to where the connection between the information and the individual is not too tenuous or remote.

• Remove the small business exemption following consultation and impact assessments and with support for small business through the transition.

• Amend the definition of consent to provide that it must be voluntary, informed, current, specific, and unambiguous.

• Amend the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) to require that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information must be fair and reasonable.

• Introduce a requirement that an individual’s consent must be obtained to trade their personal information.

These measures outlined above are examples of important protections for consumers. They do not preclude any of the remaining outstanding recommendations from the Attorney-General’s report.

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