Hon. Michelle Rowland MP - Press Conference
31 August 2026
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Press Conferences Australian Parliament
08:14 - 11:28
Speaker 4
Good afternoon. Today the Albanese government is taking the next step towards a stronger, more robust privacy framework with the release of exposure draft legislation together with a consultation paper on our second tranche of Privacy Act reforms. Privacy's an essential part of our lives. It allows us to be who we are with dignity and without fear. However, we know that Australians are increasingly concerned about how their data is being collected, used and shared, particularly as AI and other emerging technologies such as smart glasses become more accessible.
People should not have to choose between protecting their privacy and participating in the digital economy. The government's proposed reforms will help ensure they can do both and will further bring our privacy laws into the digital age. In our first term, we delivered an ambitious initial tranche of privacy reform, which introduced a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, criminalised doxxing, gave the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner tougher enforcement powers and directed the creation of the Children's Online Privacy Code. Under our second tranche of reforms, the government intends to introduce the following measures. A fair and reasonable test, so companies can no longer justify collecting more information than they need or using it for purposes that Australians would never expect.
A right to erasure, allowing individuals to request destroying personal information from large digital platforms like social media and search engines. Stronger, more meaningful standards for consent to ensure Australians are making an informed choice about the information they share without hidden terms or take-it-or-leave-it conditions. Measures to stop businesses from trading in personal information without clear permission, so shopping habits, online interests or location data cannot be bought and sold behind Australians' backs. Importantly, the government will also bolster rules and expectations around how organisations respond to data breaches and manage cases of fraud and financial abuse. In addition to these measures, the government has today also announced the introduction of ID-Lock, a new digital identity protection service designed to give Australians direct control over how their identity documents are used for verification.
The new service will be available securely through MyGov next year and will enable Australians to block, unblock and monitor the use of eligible identity documents through the document verification service at any time. This will help Australians protect themselves from identity crime, scams and the impacts of data breaches before the harm occurs. These reforms help put Australians back in control of their personal information and it sets a clear expectation. If an organisation wants to use your data, it must do so fairly, transparently and responsibly. Happy to take questions.
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