Technology means need for greater privacy protection, says Tasmania Law Reform Institute

The TLRI made 63 recommendations for reforms to privacy laws in Tasmania in its new report Review of Privacy Laws in Tasmania, initiated by the Honourable Meg Webb MLC and which examined the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 and other state-based protections.

Multiple submissions raised concerns about the privacy risks associated with emerging technologies such as facial recognition and AI, the Institute’s Principal Research Fellow Dr Rebecca Bradfield said.

“The TLRI agrees with the findings of the Commonwealth Privacy Act Review and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights and Technology project that the risks associated with these technologies justify reforms to privacy legislation,” Dr Bradfield said.

“Currently there is no comprehensive privacy regulation in Tasmania,” report co-author Dr Yvette Maker said. “Rather, privacy protection is fragmented across different laws that protect different types of privacy in different specific circumstances.”

The Institute said reforms to Tasmanian laws should, as much as possible, be consistent with those of the Commonwealth and states.

Among the recommendations are:

• A review of all Tasmanian legislation that requires the retention of personal information to ensure it appropriately balances policy objectives with privacy and cyber-security risks.
• Tasmania introduce a data breach notification scheme based on the Commonwealth model.
• Legislation be considered to enable civil action against breaches of privacy.
• Information handling be strengthened, including individual consent, the purposes for collecting personal information, disclosure of its use and an individual’s right to access their information.
• The definition of ‘sensitive information’ to include biometric and genetic information.
• A review of barriers to the sharing of information that would help protect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, people in family violence situations, abuse of elder persons and people with disabilities.
• A review of laws covering stalking and intimidation in Tasmania, that takes into account surveillance technology such as spyware on mobile phones, covert cameras and drones.
• A state offence be created to compliment the existing Commonwealth offence relating to the sharing of intimate images without consent.

The project was funded by a grant from the Solicitors Guarantee Fund.

The Tasmania Law Reform Institute is Tasmania’s peak independent law reform body and was established in 2001 by agreement between the Tasmanian Government, the University of Tasmania and The Law Society of Tasmania. The Institute undertakes impartial and independent reviews or research on areas of law and legal policy.

A link to the report is available Privacy Laws in Tasmania Final Report.