Second Reading Speech
Senator ELLISON (Western Australia-Special Minister of State)I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard .
Leave granted.
The speech read as follows-
The Privacy Amendment (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) Bill separates the Privacy Commissioner from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and creates a statutory Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The establishment of a separate Office provides an opportunity to expand the profile, and thus the effectiveness, of the work of the Privacy Commis sioner and of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The Privacy Commissioner plays an important role in the protection of personal privacy.
Currently, the Privacy Commissioner is an independent conciliator in relation to complaints about breaches of privacy in the public sector and, in limited circumstances, in the private sector. The Privacy Commissioner assists the public sector to develop and implement good privacy practices in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles set down in the Privacy Act 1988, advises the Minister and agencies in relation to matters relevant to the operation of the Privacy Act, undertakes educational programs to promote the protection of individual privacy, and encourages corporations to develop programs for the handling of personal information consistent with the OECD Guidelines. This bill will not change any of the Privacy Commissioner's functions and the Privacy Commissioner will continue to have involvement with both the public and private sectors.
The Privacy Commissioner has, to a certain extent, always operated separately from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. This is similar to the position in other countries, where Privacy and Data Protection Commissioners are generally separate offices. This bill brings the Australian Privacy Commissioner into line with the situation in other countries. The creation of a separate Office of the Privacy Commissioner will formalise the practical arrangements that have been in place to date.
The Privacy Commissioner has always been supported by dedicated Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission staff. In addition, the Privacy Commissioner's focus has been somewhat different from that of the other Commissioners. The Privacy Commissioner seeks to promote good information handling practices across agencies and organisations by focusing on practices and systems to protect the privacy of individuals. Unlike the other Commissioners, the Privacy Commissioner has audit powers which are used to fulfil an educative function and allow the Commissioner to focus on preventative measures. Traditionally, the Privacy Commissioner has emphasised settlement of complaints between the parties, viewing the use of formal procedures for hearing complaints under the Privacy Act as a last resort.
In formalising the current arrangements, this bill will provide the Privacy Commissioner and the Office with the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of their work.
I am pleased to inform the Senate that the Government has announced that it will address the important issue of privacy protection in the private sector by developing a light-touch legislative regime to support and strengthen self-regulation in the private sector.
The Government will bring forward a separate bill to implement this decision. The Government is committed to getting the new scheme right. Consultation with stakeholders is already underway as an integral part of the development of the scheme. The bill that will result from this process will deal with any required changes to the Privacy Commissioner's functions.
The establishment of a separate statutory Office of the Privacy Commissioner will create an administrative structure that will assist the Privacy Commissioner to play a meaningful role in the protection of privacy across the public and private sectors.
This bill will provide the Privacy Commissioner with an excellent vehicle for building on, and progressing, the important work that has been done to date. I am sure the new Privacy Commissioner will build upon and expand the good work done by previous Privacy Commissioners.
In summary, the increase in profile of the Privacy Commissioner that will be facilitated by the creation of a separate Office of the Privacy Commissioner underlines the Government's commitment to the protection of privacy.