Page 624 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 March 2014
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The ACT will draw on the considerable expertise of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in a manner that recognises the specific circumstances of the ACT and is appropriate and adapted to our jurisdictional needs.
I also note that the bill does not seek to create a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy. The ALRC is currently reviewing the desirability, suitability and design of a privacy tort and it is not scheduled to report to the Commonwealth Attorney-General until June this year. The government proposes to consider the ALRC report before making a decision on options as to whether or not to create of a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy in the ACT.
To conclude, this bill represents the ACT’s first territory-specific privacy law and personal information protection provisions. It is not radical but builds on the principles which have guided public sector agencies since the introduction of the commonwealth Privacy Act in 1988. It takes these principles and consolidates them into easy-to-understand, common-sense rules that will enhance the ability of public sector agencies to manage personal information in an efficient and consistent manner.
I am confident the bill strikes the right balance between permissive and protective handling of personal information in the increasingly fluid sphere of information exchange between the public and the government. I commend this bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Hanson) adjourned to the next sitting.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2014
Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (12.22): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
The Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 is part of a series of legislation that makes amendments to laws in the Justice and Community Safety portfolio. The bill will improve the effectiveness of a range of ACT laws through uncontroversial amendments to improve operational efficiency and clarify minor aspects of policy. This bill amends the Agents Act and regulation, the Coroners Act, the DPP Act, the Family Provision Act, the Legal Profession Act and regulation and the Public Trustee Act.
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