UN Expert Urges Swift Implementation of Privacy Act Reforms in Australia

In her end-of-mission statement, Nougrères emphasized the urgent need to amend Australia’s legal and regulatory privacy framework and to adopt a Human Rights Act.

A United Nations expert has expressed strong support for the comprehensive reforms proposed by the Privacy Act Review, which the Commonwealth Government of Australia has been considering but has not yet implemented. Ana Brian Nougrères, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, highlighted the potential for these reforms to set a precedent for harmonizing privacy laws across federal and state/territory levels if the government acts decisively.

“Australia’s efforts to update its privacy framework for personal data have been a prolonged process but, if prioritized, it could become a good example of cross-jurisdictional harmonization regarding privacy laws—if the Government can exert the political will and seize this moment,” Nougrères stated following her ten-day visit to the country, which concluded on 19 August.

In her end-of-mission statement, Nougrères emphasized the urgent need to amend Australia’s legal and regulatory privacy framework and to adopt a Human Rights Act. She noted that the latter is a priority shared by the National Human Rights Commission, as it would strengthen protective measures and enable citizens to take remedial action for privacy breaches.

During her visit, the Special Rapporteur examined privacy issues related to personal and health data, cybersecurity, surveillance, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies. She stressed the importance of embracing technological innovation with a human rights-based approach to mitigate risks of inadvertent misuse and intentional abuse of personal information. Additionally, she called for increased digital literacy to empower citizens to better safeguard their right to privacy.

Nougrères also expressed particular concern about the intersectionality of privacy rights with gender, Indigenous populations, children, and the elderly, noting that these vulnerable groups face heightened risks of privacy violations. Such violations, she explained, can lead to alarming trends of discrimination, violence, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, and financial manipulation.

The expert underscored the importance of awareness, education, cooperation, harmonization, and standardization (as outlined in General Assembly Resolution A/78/L.49, March 2024), along with the need for robust legal safeguards to ensure accessible remedies for data breaches and privacy violations. She emphasized that in an increasingly digital age, flexible and innovative technical solutions are necessary to protect privacy rights effectively.

During her visit, the Special Rapporteur met with government officials, national institutions, civil society, academics, and lawyers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. Nougrères will submit her report on the visit to the Human Rights Council in March 2025.