Allens

21 February 2013

About one-third of in-house counsel have named privacy reform as the major issue facing companies in 2013, according to a poll by law firm Allens. Partner Michael Pattison spoke to BRR Media about the reforms and new privacy risks for offshore data disclosures.

30 November 2012

The Federal Parliament has passed much anticipated reforms that will have a significant impact on the way companies and government agencies collect and deal with various forms of personal information. Partners Michael Pattison and Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyers Amy Dobbin and Ishwar Singh report.

29 November 2012

The Federal Parliament has today passed legislation to effect a major reform of privacy laws in Australia. Partners Michael Pattison and Gavin Smith spoke to BRR Media about the changes and how businesses should respond.

27 November 2012

The Federal Government has introduced amendments to Australia's telecommunications regulatory regime that will facilitate Australia's accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. Partner Ian McGill, Senior Associate Valeska Bloch and Lawyer Matthew Tracey examine the impact of these amendments.

03 October 2012

A Senate Committee has endorsed changes to privacy law that will have significant implications for most companies and federal agencies. Partners Michael Pattison, Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyer Ishwar Singh report.

09 July 2012

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has released a report into Telstra having breached customer privacy in 2011. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Margaret Walsh report on the Privacy Commissioner's findings, Telstra's response to the data breaches, and what the matter can teach us about taking 'reasonable steps' to comply with the national privacy regime.

25 June 2012

After a rocky journey, federal legislation providing a platform for the creation of an online register of electronic health records has been passed. Senior Associate Michael Morris and Lawyer Andy Gian report

07 June 2012

Changes proposed to Europe's data protection regime, along with incoming Australian legislative reform, may pose challenges for Australian companies operating in Europe. Allens Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Nikki Macor and Linklaters Partner Julian Cunningham-Day and Senior Professional Support Lawyer Peter Church report

28 May 2012

Amendments to strengthen Australia's privacy regime will create new penalties, increased requirements for procedures and disclosure, and a revamped credit reporting system and will have significant implications for most companies and government agencies. Partner Michael Pattison, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyers Nikki Macor and Margaret Walsh report.

24 May 2012

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012, which was introduced to Federal Parliament on 23 May, proposes some significant changes to privacy law in Australia. Partner Michael Pattison spoke to BRR Media about some of the changes affecting Australian businesses

01 May 2012

The Privacy Commissioner has released a new guide on how organisations should respond to data breaches. Partner Michael Pattison spoke to BRR Media on the guide's recommendations and what they mean for businesses

21 March 2012

The Senate has released a report on its inquiry into the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Bill. Senior Associate Michael Morris spoke to BRR Media about the likely privacy implications of E-health records

01 February 2012

The recent closure of the Megaupload site has raised some questions about the use of cloud computing services. Partner Niranjan Arasaratnam spoke to BRR Media about the implications of the case and what businesses using or looking to use cloud computing need to do to make sure their data is secure

13 December 2011

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has made its first determination in response to a complaint since 2004. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Margaret Walsh report on this decision, where an organisation was required to pay damages, issue a written apology and provide privacy training to staff

05 December 2011

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has outlined strict new tactics to deal with companies that are careless with customer or user data. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Luke O'Sullivan report

24 October 2011

A proposed new consumer data protection regime will affect all Singapore business sectors, applying a uniform minimum data protection standard to every industry. Senior Associate Jeremy Chase and Lawyer Henry Fraser report.

30 September 2011

Individuals could soon gain the right to sue other individuals and companies over serious invasions of privacy if the Federal Government adopts recommendations in a long-awaited issues paper. The issues paper considers the introduction of a statutory cause of action for invasions of privacy and how to strike the right balance between an individual's right to privacy and other important public interests, such as freedom of expression. Partner Gavin Smith and Law Graduate Rowan Platt explain

06 July 2011

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee has released the first part of its report on its inquiry into the legislation giving effect to the new Australian Privacy Principles which, if implemented, may have significant implications for privacy compliance procedures. Partner Dean Carrigan, Special Counsel John Dieckmann, Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd and Lawyer Fiona MacDonald report

07 June 2011

Recent events in the United Kingdom have seen super-injunctions being undermined by social media. Partner Miriam Stiel speaks to Boardroom Radio about super-injunctions in a social media world and the lessons Australian businesses can learn from the case

24 May 2011

Facebook has been in the news recently about a privacy breach affecting its members. Senior Overseas Practitioner Gavin Smith discusses how this can happen and what businesses can do to prevent similar data breaches occurring in their organisations

28 June 2010

The Australian Government has released an Exposure Draft of the Australian Privacy Principles that are proposed to replace the National Privacy Principles and the Information Privacy Principles. Special Counsel Karin Clark and Partner Michael Pattison look at the new principles and their impact on privacy compliance programs.

09 November 2009

The Federal Government has released the first stage of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Jacqueline Goodall report on the implications for health service providers, and other bodies that handle health information

02 November 2009

The Australian Government has released the first stage of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Nicholas Tobias report on the credit reporting implications of the proposed reforms

27 October 2009

The Federal Government has released a discussion paper calling for submissions ahead of its review of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth). Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Nicholas Tobias report

22 October 2009

The Federal Government has released the first stage of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on Australia's privacy laws. Partner Catherine Parr speaks to Boardroom Radio about the key changes to privacy laws that will impact on both the private and public sector

20 October 2009

The Australian Government has released the first stage of its response to the ALRC's report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Jacqueline Goodall report

03 November 2008

The Australian Law Reform Commission has released a report that recommends changes to Australia's privacy laws. Partners Catherine Parr and Peter Jones, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Francisca Hoffmann-Axthelm report on the implications for health service providers and other bodies that handle health information

11 September 2008

The Federal Privacy Commissioner has released a guide for businesses, government agencies and non-government organisations on how to respond to data security breaches, including when affected individuals should be notified. Importantly, the guidelines recognise that it is not always desirable that the individuals concerned be told about the breach. Partner Michael Pattison and Special Counsel Karin Clark discuss the guide's recommendations

19 August 2008

The Australian Law Reform Commission has recommended changes to Australia' privacy laws that will have important implications for credit providers. Partners Catherine Parr and Peter Jones look at what will change

18 August 2008

The Australian Law Reform Commission has released a report into privacy law that recommends key changes to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and other privacy legislation. Partners Catherine Parr and Peter Jones look at what is proposed and how the proposed Unified Privacy Principles differ from the current regime

11 August 2008

After undertaking the largest community consultation program in its 33-year history, the Australian Law Reform Commission today released its report on privacy law. Partners Peter Jones and Catherine Parr, and Special Counsel Karin Clark report

29 October 2007

Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Articled Clerk Kelly Griffiths report on proposals in the Australian Law Reform Commission's recent discussion paper for the reform of Australian privacy laws as they relate to credit reporting

09 October 2007

The Australian Law Reform Commission has recently released a discussion paper that proposes reforms of Australia's privacy laws as they relate to developing technologies and telecommunications. Partner Michael Pattison, Articled Clerk Jeremy Collins and Law Graduate Tim Cardiff report

07 August 2007

The past two months has seen a crackdown by the Australian Communications and Media Authority on unsolicited electronic messages. Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Suzanne Komattu-Mathews report on the outcome of three recent decisions under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth)

13 June 2007

Judge Felicity Hampel in the Victorian County Court recently held that the general law now offers protection to 'private information' under both the equitable action of breach of confidence and a new tort of invasion of privacy. Special Counsel Karin Clark, Lawyer Maree Norton and Articled Clerk Adam Butt consider the extent this groundbreaking decision, if upheld, is likely to increase an individual's right to control the publication of 'private information' about themselves

10 April 2007

The creation of a Do Not Call Register scheme last year has major repercussions for the telemarketing industry and all businesses that use phone marketing techniques. Special Counsel Karin Clark, Lawyer Andrew Ailwood and Law Graduates Claire Bourke and Valeska Bloch outline the legislative components establishing the scheme and examine its implications

04 April 2007

In response to recommendations made by the Auditor-General and recent public concerns about the efficacy of certain contracts entered into by the NSW Government, the Freedom of Information Amendment (Open Government - Disclosure of Contracts) Act 2006 (NSW) came into force on 1 January 2007. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater transparency in all contractual dealings between NSW government agencies and the private sector. Partner Leighton O'Brien and Lawyer Joel Sturgeon report

08 November 2005

The Victorian Law Reform Commission's workplace privacy final report, written in response to growing concern about the increased use of surveillance in the workplace, has been tabled in the Victorian Parliament. Lawyer Andrew Ailwood and Special Counsel Karin Clark outline the report's findings

14 June 2005

The Privacy Commissioner's report into the operation of the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act has been released. The AAR Privacy Team summarises the Report's recommendations in a number of key areas of relevance to AAR's clients

30 November 2004

Partner Katherine Sainty and Law Graduate Andrew Ailwood discuss the increasing regulation of the transfer of data containing personal or sensitive information from an entity in one country to an entity in another jurisdiction

22 October 2004

Recent overseas court decisions point to the emergence of a new common law right to privacy. Articled Clerk Maree Norton, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Partner Katherine Sainty report on the potential implications for Australian organisations, particularly media organisations

02 June 2004

In a first for Australia, the Federal Court has granted an injunction to stop a breach of privacy law. Partner Ian McGill, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Articled Clerk Banjo McLachlan report on the implications for all businesses covered by the National Privacy Principles, including call centres, telemarketers and businesses with large customer databases

08 January 2004

The Spam Act 2003 received royal assent on 12 December 2003 and its key operative provisions will come into force on 10 April 2004

02 December 2003

On Tuesday, 2 December, the Federal Government passed national anti-spam legislation in the form of the Spam Bill 2003 and the Spam (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2003. Lawyer Alyssa Caplan reports on the key features of the new anti-spam legislation and important compliance issues for clients

15 May 2003

As consumers become more aware of their rights under the Privacy Act, it is imperative that financial institutions ensure they comply with publicised privacy policies. In April 2003, the Privacy Commission investigated two incidents involving the mishandling of financial information of customers. Senior Associate Lorien Beazley reports

17 December 2002

Important Commonwealth private sector privacy laws, which will impose new obligations on small businesses, commence on 21 December 2002. Lawyer Damien van der Toorn examines which small businesses will be covered, how they are likely to be affected, and what they should be doing to comply

08 April 2002

Senior Associate Jackie Lyne looks at the increased power and range of regulators of the new privacy regime in the light of a recent collaboration between two Federal bodies

12 October 2001

Changes to Australian privacy laws will affect the way Australians do business. These laws will have a significant impact on Australian businesses which send personal information offshore. Partner Katherine Sainty and Senior Associate Brigid Keary look at how these changes may impact on your business and some of the practical steps you can take to minimise that impact