Submission – Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022

CPRC generally supports the proposed amendments in Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022. Setting penalties at the right level will ensure that more businesses will seriously consider effective strategies to reduce the risk of data breaches.

However, the proposed amendments to the legislation are still limited in scope and remain far from the privacy protections that Australians deserve and that consumers in other comparative jurisdictions have enjoyed for several years. In particular, CPRC asks the Federal Government to:

• amend the legislation so the regulator can consider penalties for all data breaches, not just when incidents are serious or repeated
• commission an independent review of the regulator to ensure it is adequately resourced to enforce these penalties, including undertaking proactive surveillance
• ensure the ongoing review of the Privacy Act includes safeguards on how data is collected, shared, and used by businesses.