29.04.2014

Invasions of Privacy enews | Issue 5 | Subs due soon!

News section: Newsletter

Issue 4 | 31 March 2014.  View original format.

Less than 2 weeks till submissions close!

Do you have views on how Australian privacy laws should be formulated? The ALRC has been asked to design a right to sue for invasion of privacy, and welcomes your views on a range of proposals and questions. When should public interest trump privacy? Should you be able to record a private conversation without permission? New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries have all developed legal protection of privacy, with Australia still to follow. This is a chance to influence the future direction of our laws.

We’d like to remind all our stakeholders that submissions in response to the Discussion Paper are due within 2 weeks. We are keen to get as much input as possible, so please use the online form or email your submission (in Word format) to us by Monday 12 May. We are working to an extremely short timeline and will not be able to accept late submissions. Our Final Report is due to the Attorney-General on 30 June.

We will publish public submissions as they are received and processed. You can view them on our website.

Consultations

The team has been busy consulting with stakeholders from Melbourne, South Australia, Sydney and Canberra and earlier this month held a legal roundtable at the Federal Court to discuss some of key issues in the DP with a particular focus on the proposed Statutory Cause of Action.  The final Advisory Committee meeting for the Inquiry will be held in mid-May. The ALRC would like to thank all our consultees for the time they have taken to meet with the ALRC and their considered and thoughtful contributions to our research. 

Treading a fine line: Balancing privacy and public interest in law reform

Earlier this month, Professor Barbara McDonald, Commissioner leading the Inquiry, wrote an article that was published in the Gazette of Law And Journalism and the International Forum for Responsible Media Blog.  It provides an overview of the Discussion Paper and outlines the thinking behind the proposal for a new statutory tort of privacy.

Commissioner McDonald has also been interviewed by ABC radio and appeared on the ABC’s The Drum.