Two new cases demonstrate the risk from pixels, the reality of digital harms, and how the regulator is testing the boundaries of the law, with implications for all Do you know if your organisation’s website is leaking sensitive information about your customers, to third parties, which could be used to harm your customers and undermine…
How dark patterns can land you in hot water: new case offers lessons for all
A new determination from Australia’s privacy regulator offers lessons about design, power, and what ‘fairness’ requires of organisations handling personal information. Collection practices in the spotlight In April 2026, the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Carly Kind, found that IRE Pty Ltd, operators of the 2Apply rental application platform, had breached Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) 3.2, by…
How to sniff out the landmines that can ruin your AI project
As far as headlines about ‘AI gone rogue’ go, this one is possibly my favourite from the past couple of months: “How one CEO’s chatbot could cost his company $355 million”. I eagerly clicked on the newspaper story, assuming it would offer a similar tale of corporate woe to the debacle a couple of years…
Privacy reforms to impact over 100,000 small businesses
A little-known side effect of changes to anti-money laundering laws is that more than 100,000 small businesses in Australia will, for the first time, be required to comply with the Privacy Act, starting 1 July 2026. While most small businesses in Australia – defined as having a turnover of less than $3M pa – have…
The view from the summit: trust and hope, caution and concern, and plenty of hard work
Across 2-3 December, the IAPP ANZ Summit was held in Sydney – the largest ever gathering of privacy professionals in our region, with more than 500 attendees. The Helios Salinger team was out in force, catching up with old friends, making new connections, and welcoming young professionals into the fold. For our final blog of…
