Australian State/Territory regimes

This page covers the privacy regimes of the Australian states, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. The only states with a comprehensive data protection regime are New South Wales (NSW), with the Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and Victoria, with the Information Privacy Act 2000. State/territory Freedom of Information legislation is identified here.

     NSW

In New South Wales the 1998 Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act (PPIP) covers the public sector and established an Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner (NSWPC).

Major government agencies, such as the police, are exempt from some or all of the privacy principles. All state owned corporations, courts, tribunals and Royal Commissions are fully exempt.

The 1998 Workplace Video Surveillance Act (WVSA) and 1984 Listening Devices Act (LDA) deal with covert surveillance.

     Victoria

In Victoria the new Information Privacy Act (IPB) articulates 10 Information Privacy Principles, based on the National Privacy Principles. It is restricted to the public sector and does not apply to health information, for which separate Health Records legislation is being developed.

The legislation establishes a State Privacy Commissioner (SPC) to administer the Act and to deal with complaints.The Victorian Act is more comprehensive than the NSW Act: it has fewer exemptions, and covers state government owned enterprises. Complaints to the Privacy Commissioner, if not conciliated, can be decided by the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal which can make binding orders, including for compensation of up to $100,000.

Other Victorian privacy legislation includes the -

• Health Records Act 2001 (HRA)
• Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (SDA)

     ACT

Australian Capital Territory government agencies are notionally covered by the federal legislation, although health records were removed from the jurisdiction of the Federal Privacy Commissioner by the ACT Health Records (Access & Privacy) Act 1997 (AHRAP) based on the federal privacy principles and intended to allow patients access to their own medical records in the public and private sectors.

The ACT Listening Devices Act 1992 is (here).

     NT

The Northern Territory is developing privacy legislation for the public sector only. Surveillance legislation includes the Listening Device Act 1990.

     Queensland

The Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (PDF) was primarily concerned with the licensing of private inquiry agents and the regulation of listening devices, as well as a number of offences relating to unlawful entry of homes. The Privacy Committee Act 1984 established a state Privacy Committee with an Ombudsman complaint-handling function but featured a sunset clause: the Committee was wound down in 1991.

Surveillance legislation includes the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 and Criminal Justice Act 1989.

     Other states

Pending enactment of the new Commonwealth legislation the other states have issued administrative instructions requiring broad compliance by government agencies with the federal principles but are not moving towards discrete privacy legislation covering public or private sectors bodies.

The Instructions in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia do not have the force of law and there are few supervisory or enforcement mechanisms. South Australia has a part time Privacy Committee with some advisory and ombudsman functions.

     Tasmania

Tasmania has a specific Listening Devices Act 1991 (LDA).

For spent convictions see the Records of Offences (Access) Act (RAO)

     Western Australia

For listening devices legislation in Western Australia see the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (here)

     South Australia

In South Australia it's the Listening Devices Act 1972 (here).

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