The new Australian Privacy Legislation is due to go live on the 12th March 2014. New data protection laws to be introduced restrict how Australian businesses collect, store and use their data – so it’s a good idea to start preparing for the changes now.


Does that Act apply to your business?



The Privacy Act protects personal information handled by large businesses and health service providers of any size.



The Act may also apply to a small business if it has an annual turnover of more than $3 million and either:trades in personal information

• provides services under a Commonwealth contract

• runs a residential tenancy database

• is related to a larger business

• is a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.

What is changing?



A new set of privacy principles that covers the handling of personal information by business will be introduced.



The changes will affect how businesses can:

• handle and process personal information

• use personal information for direct marketing

• disclose personal information to people overseas.

The Privacy Act changes will also give the Information Commissioner the ability to:

• investigate serious breaches (including the right to impose penalties on businesses)
  

• assess the privacy performance of businesses.

To comply with the Privacy Act from 12 March 2014, businesses will need to have a clear and up-to-date privacy policy that is easily available.