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A new Privacy Bill has been introduced to Parliament.
The Bill will replace the Privacy Act 1993.
Over the 25 years since the Act was passed, the rise of the internet and the digital economy has transformed business and government, and the use of personal information. Large quantities of data are readily stored, retrieved, and disclosed and can be easily sent around the world. This creates many benefits, but also new challenges for the protection of personal information.
The changes in the Bill will strengthen privacy protections. The reforms promote early intervention and risk management by agencies (the name used for any organisation or person that handles personal information), rather than relying on people making complaints after a privacy breach has already happened. The Bill’s reforms will also enhance the role of the Privacy Commissioner.
Key reforms in the Bill are:
The Bill implements recommendations made by the Law Commission in 2011. The Law Commission found that the Act’s principles were sound, but that it needed updating to better address the challenges of the digital age.
People will have the opportunity to comment on details of the proposed law changes when the Bill is considered at Select Committee.
Follow the progress of the Privacy Bill(external link).
If you would like to learn more about the changes, please see the following documents:
Cabinet Paper - Privacy Bill 2018 - Approval for Additional Policy Amendments [PDF, 304 KB]
Cabinet Paper - Reforming the Privacy Act 1993 [PDF, 360 KB]
Appendix One to Cabinet Paper Reforming the Privacy Act 1993 [PDF, 378 KB]
Government Response to Law Commission report on the Review of the Privacy Act 1993 [PDF, 84 KB]
Supplementary Government Response to Law Commission report [PDF, 479 KB]
Law Commission Review of Privacy(external link)
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