Australia's second tranche of Privacy Act reforms proposes sweeping new rules on data handling and individual rights
Australia’s privacy regime is set for another major overhaul, with the Federal Government unveiling its long-awaited second tranche of Privacy Act reforms. The proposals could significantly change how businesses collect, use, share and protect personal information, and expand the rights individuals have over their data.
The Federal Government has released an exposure draft of the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 (Cth), together with a consultation paper, marking the second stage of reform of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Building on the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth), which introduced, amongst other things, the statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, and enhanced enforcement powers (discussed in a previous insight here), the Bill proposes approximately 40 further reforms, including the long-anticipated fair and reasonable test, that will significantly change how Australian businesses handle personal information.
The reforms are broad in scope but also respond to privacy risks associated with emerging technologies. As we explored recently in our article Smart glasses in the workplace: the privacy and surveillance risks organisations need to manage, technologies that collect personal, biometric and location data are challenging existing approaches to privacy surveillance. Several of the proposals, including...
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