Caretaker conventions now in place

The Australian Government is operating in accordance with caretaker conventions ahead of the 2025 federal election. New material issued after 9am 28 March 2025, including transcripts, speeches and media releases, will not be available on this site. This information is usually available on the Australian Labor Party website, which is not maintained or funded by the Australian Government.

Landmark Privacy Act Review report released

The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
Media Release

The Albanese Government has today released the report of the Attorney-General's Department's review of the Privacy Act 1988.

Strong privacy laws are essential to Australians' trust and confidence in the digital economy and digital services provided by governments and industry.

However, the Privacy Act has not kept pace with the changes in the digital world. The large-scale data breaches of 2022 were distressing for millions of Australians, with sensitive personal information being exposed to the risk of identity fraud and scams.

Following those breaches the Government acted swiftly to significantly increase penalties under the Privacy Act for serious or repeated privacy breaches and give the Australian Information Commissioner improved and new powers.

The Australian people rightly expect greater protections, transparency and control over their personal information and the release of this report begins the process of delivering on those expectations.

The Government is now seeking feedback on the 116 proposals in this report before deciding what further steps to take.

Submissions on the report are due on 31 March 2023. For further information, please visit the Attorney-General's Department website.