Following a review of the Privacy Act 1988 last year, a range of proposed reform measures were announced. These included, concerningly, abolishing the small business exemption meaning that businesses with turnovers of less than $3m per year would be bound by the Act.
Speaking in May, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced that the legislative reforms to the Privacy Act were to be introduced in August. While this has been delayed, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is calling on the government to consult further with industry to address concerns before any reforms become law.
ACCI CEO Andrew McKellar said that“we are yet to see the final package of changes to truly be in a position to understand the cost and compliance burden on businesses, particularly small businesses which are already grappling with financial pressures and regulatory demands.” There are also major concerns about the lack of knowledge of what changes might be coming.
Some of the other reforms tabled have included businesses needing to acquire“informed consent” when asking customers to agree to their privacy rather than showing legalese and an agree option. As well as having a right to opt out of personal information being used for direct marketing purposes, which many in advertising and media are concerned about.
The increasing digitisation of work and recent high-profile data breaches in Australia and abroad have shown why data protection is so valuable. But for thousands of businesses, particularly small businesses, sweeping regulations under what many believe has been a dubious cost-benefit analysis could add another significant compliance burden. We certainly hope this is not the case and that the reforms be pursued in greater collaboration with industry.
