Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has announced the Federal Government’s intentions to reform the country’s privacy laws, with an aim to simplify credit reporting arrangements, give new enforcement powers to the Privacy Commissioner and better protect people’s personal information.

 

The Attorney explained that key changes to benefit consumers are:

  • clearer and tighter regulation of the use of personal information for direct marketing
  • extending privacy protections to unsolicited information
  • making it easier for consumers to access and correct information held about them
  • tightening the rules on sending personal information outside Australia
  • enhancing the powers of the Privacy Commissioner to improve the Commissioner’s ability to resolve complaints, conduct investigations and promote privacy compliance

 

The Government will also modernise credit reporting arrangements. Benefits for consumers include:

 

  • making a clear obligation on organisations to substantiate, or show their evidence to justify, disputed credit listings
  • making it easier for individuals to access and correct their credit reporting information
  • prohibiting the collection of credit reporting information about children
  • simplifying the complaints process by removing requirement to complain to the organisation first, complaints can be made directly to the Privacy Commissioner, and by introducing alternative dispute resolution to more efficiently deal with complaints.

 

“There have been big changes to the way we access finance since 1990 when the existing credit reporting provisions came into effect,” Ms Roxon said.

 

“Many consumers have expressed their frustration at not being able to understand their credit rating.

 

“These changes will provide much more power to consumers to be able to access and, if necessary, correct their credit reports.”

 

The reform will be achieved through changes to the Privacy Act 1099, and will be introduced before Parliament in the Winter sitting period.

 

Further information is available from www.ag.gov.au/Privacy/Pages/Privacy-Reforms.aspx

 

Information about Privacy Awareness Week is available at www.privacyawarenessweek.org/