For release 16 February 2023

Privacy Act Review a Chance to Move Consumer Protection Into Digital Age

The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) welcomes the opportunity to reform Australia’s privacy laws for the digital age with the Federal Government’s release of the Privacy Act review report and further consultation starting today.

“Australia’s privacy laws are decades behind, with the last major reform occurring in the 1980s.

“Government’s openness to widely consult on this complex and important reform is a welcome step,” CPRC CEO Erin Turner said.

“CPRC wants the Privacy Act to protect Australians from harm today and in the future.

“Our current privacy laws rely on notice and consent to protect consumers.

The “tick and forget” consent approach forces consumers to accept business practices that can be harmful, for example when businesses collect more information than they need or when data is used to push harmful products to people in vulnerable situations.

“Forcing consumers into a situation where they decide once about sharing their data but bear the consequences, potentially for the remainder of their life, is not a fair trade,” Turner said.

The CPRC wants to see a modern Privacy Act that will:

include consumer protections to go beyond notification and consent
empower the regulator to swiftly ban or restrict harmful practices that cause direct and clear consumer harms
modernise what it means to be identifiable to cover information obtained from any source and by any means
require all businesses to assess and ensure how they collect and use data leads to fair outcomes for their customers and the community, and
provide a clear pathway to redress when things go wrong.
“The burden of how data is collected, shared and used can no longer remain on the shoulders of Australian consumers.

“We look forward to working with the Government to shape the Privacy Act to meet the needs of consumers,” Turner said.

CPRC CEO, Erin Turner is available for comment on request, contact media@cprc.org.au or ph: 0493 539 466.