In brief In a Determination published on 18 November, the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Carly Kind (the Commissioner) has found Bunnings Group Limited (‘Bunnings’) breached Australian customers’ privacy by collecting their personal and sensitive inf…
Archives for 2024
The tort(oise) and the hare: a common law tort for invasion of privacy is recognised in historic case
You can’t breach someone’s confidence if you disclose untrue information, but you can breach their privacy. In an historic ruling, a Judge in the Victorian County Court has recognised a distinct common law tort of invasion of privacy, and awarded $30,0…
How to prepare for Privacy Act reforms: what to do now, and what can wait
Don’t wait for the POLA Bill to pass before you get cracking: it’s time to get your house in order now. For a while now we have been talking to our clients about the seven steps to prepare for law reform, but with these particular reforms split into tw…
Tighten up practices ahead of Tranche 1 Privacy Act reforms
The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the POLA Bill) is currently before the Australian Parliament. It has been described by the government as the ‘first tranche’ in the long running project to reform the Privacy Act 1988. The more sig…
Moving at the speed of light – which AI risk assessment framework should you use?
If you feel like you’re suffering whiplash from the sheer pace of technological change, especially around the use of AI – you’re not alone. The different regulatory responses to emerging technologies are piling up, with more guidance and frameworks tha…
HPX Group’s Helios is joining forces with Salinger Privacy
HPX Group has today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire leading privacy consultancy Salinger Privacy, merging it with the Group’s Helios business to provide organisations with a whole-of-business solution for navigating Australia’s evo…
Counting the Costs of Not Reforming the Privacy Act
Well August was disappointing, huh? News of the delay of the long-promised Privacy Act reforms was met with groans of disappointment by privacy and consumer advocates – but interestingly, we hear similar expressions of frustration from regulated entiti…
After 20 years, what we’ve learned, what has changed … and what’s next
Today, August 6th, Salinger Privacy turns 20! To mark our birthday, the whole team pitched in with reflections on how the privacy field has changed, what we have learned along the way, and our hopes for the future. We’ve come a long way Our Principal A…
In praise of Privacy by Design, not Privacy Busywork
If you have ever been on the receiving end of an eyeroll or yawn from me when I am asked about overseas data transfers, privacy policies, or data processing agreements, let me explain why. Because you can’t see the forest of privacy harms, if you are f…
What if the OAIC peered inside data clean rooms … and found they were dirty?
The big privacy news this week is the release of the ACCC interim report on the data brokering industry, which has thrown light onto the shady world of monetising and trading in your personal information. This is the world in which our online activitie…
How privacy immaturity leads to cyber risk
In a recent panel discussion I was asked to comment on the role privacy practices play in cyber risk, and how to uplift maturity. These were some of my reflections. Data equals risk The more data you have, the bigger your exposure to cyber attacks. Ove…
“It’s now or never” – the future of the internet and your privacy could be decided this month
Privacy for sale, and the problem with regulating if we see ads Keep your eyes on Europe later this month for a critical decision which could re-shape the Internet – and the protection of our privacy – for decades to come. Described by Tobias Judin, He…
Insider risk: 15 examples of why training and controls matter
Cyber risk from external bad actors is a keen area of government, public and industry focus right now – but there are also significant risks posed by trusted insiders. Cyber is having a moment. Ever since a small number of big brand names became synon…
