Another push for an Australian privacy tort: context, evaluation and prospects

In 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Australian Human Rights Commission proposed the enactment of a statutory privacy tort in the form recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2014. Although both Commissions made their proposals in different contexts, their respective calls respond to the common threat that the rise of modern data-driven technology poses for privacy. The Government response to the ACCC reform announced that the recommendation would be further examined as part of a review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and related laws. At the same time, the ACCC's recommendation for a direct right of action under the Privacy Act was "support[ed] in principle, subject to consultation and design of specific measures". The renewed attention given to privacy law reform makes it timely to contextualise and evaluate the ACCC and AHRC proposals for a statutory tort and to assess the prospects of legislative action.