In November 2024, following the infamous Bunnings Determination the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) published a guide for organisations in using facial recognition technology (FRT). The guide walks organisations through how the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) should be applied in the context of using facial recognition technology (FRT) in a commercial setting. FRT …
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In 2025, AI no longer only exists in dedicated applications like ChatGPT and OpenAI. It is now integrated with everyday applications, such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word and Excel. Everyone is now using AI as part of work before they realise. Mundane daily tasks like reminders, notetaking and summary-making are automatically generated with the assistance …
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Amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) increased the enforcement powers of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), introducing new civil penalty tiers and giving the OAIC the ability to issue infringement notices for minor breaches. This marks the beginning of a stronger regulatory environment for organisations that do not comply …
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Australian Government Agencies have been urged by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to strengthen their policies on messaging apps like Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook messenger. On 19 March 2025 the OAIC published ‘Messaging apps: a report on Australian Government agency practices and policies’ highlighting significant gaps in the governance of messaging …
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In the 2023-24 financial year, Australia saw nearly 94,000 reports of cybercrime submitted to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. This was a 23% increase compared to the previous year. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) received over 36,700 calls to its Australian Cybersecurity Hotline, an increase of 12% from the previous financial year. The ASD also …
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On 13 March 2025, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced they had launched legal proceedings against an investment firm, FIIG Securities Limited (FIIG).
The CEO of Services Australia (Agency) has recently been found by the Australian Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner) to have interfered with a customer’s privacy after a series of issues involving the Agency intertwining customer records.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has found that the use of facial recognition technology by hardware giant Bunnings breached the privacy of “hundreds of thousands” of Australians between 2018 and 2021.
13/09/2024 Today the long awaited first tranche of amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) entered parliament. The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill) was introduced and read for a first time today in the House of Representatives. In the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill, the Attorney-General conceded that to date, …
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The Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Act 2022, which commenced on 13 December 2022, introduced targeted measures to enhance the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)’s ability to regulate in line with community expectations and protect Australians’ privacy in the digital environment.