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Privacy Law and Policy Reporter

Privacy Law and Policy Reporter (PLPR)
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Greenleaf, Graham --- "Victoria joins the race for private sector privacy laws" [1996] PrivLawPRpr 29; (1996) 3(3) Privacy Law & Policy Reporter 43


Victoria joins the race for private sector privacy laws

The Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Multimedia, Alan Stockdale, has released details of privacy legislation to be introduced in Victoria by the end of the year, according to the Sunday Age (14 July 1996). However, Mr Stockdale's announcement was a little premature, as the proposal has not yet gone through Cabinet, but will go to Cabinet shortly.

Mr Stockdale said that, as well as applying to Victoria's public sector, the new laws are also likely to apply to the private sector, and that the government was `looking at whether the scope of state responsibility means we have to augment the federal laws'. National uniformity was desirable, he said.

One detail that is known is that a Data Protection Advisory Council, to be chaired by Victor Perton MP, will act as a `taskforce' to develop the law. Its terms of reference and membership are not yet announced. The Age had reported it would also examine issues such as internet censorship, but its title indicates otherwise.

NSW Privacy Committee's 9th life

All current appointments to the NSW Privacy Committee terminate at the end of August 1996, in recognition of NSW Attorney-General Jeff Shaw's optimism that he would have his proposed Privacy and Data Protection law (see 3 PLPR 17) he would have his proposed Privacy and Data Protection law (see 3 PLPR 17) operative by then. However, it has not yet been introduced to Parliament. A spokesman for Mr Shaw said that it was expected that the Bill would be introduced early in the September sitting of Parliament, and was still planned to be operative by year's end. Meanwhile, new appointments will have to be made to the Privacy Committee that refuses to die.

Commonwealth still has other plans ...

The Federal Coalition is following up on its ambiguous election promises concerning privacy (see 3 PLPR 1) with active consideration of legislation to extend the Privacy Act to cover the private sector that the Attorney-General's Department has had under development for more than six months. Attorney-General Williams has said he will make an announcement in the next couple of months.

Graham Greenleaf, General Editor.


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