Strengthening of Australia's Privacy Act urged.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis

Despite two high-profile cases that have forced thousands of Australians to replace personal items ranging from credit cards to passports, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said Australia's existing Privacy Act, which carries no criminal sanctions, is strong enough to compel companies to protect consumers.

Computerworld reported that the office of the attorney general said no new laws will be considered in Australia to force companies to disclose all details of a breach of data security that could expose personal information to either the general or criminal populations.

A Ruddock spokesperson said the 1998 Privacy Act was sufficient because it regulated the collection of personal information by Australian public and private organizations. But Australian privacy laws do not require mandatory reporting of security breaches of personal information, and Australian Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis said the concept of mandatory reporting was not raised in a recent review of the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act.

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Despite the...