EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 92

 

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

 

Privacy Act 1988

 

Privacy (Private Sector) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

The Privacy Act 1988 (the Act) establishes, among other things, the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) which regulate the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information by private sector organisations.

NPP 7.2 provides that a private sector organisation must not use or disclose an identifier assigned to an individual by a Commonwealth agency, or by an agent or contracted service provider to that agency, except in specified circumstances. These include where the use or disclosure is by a prescribed organisation of a prescribed identifier in prescribed circumstances (paragraph (c) of NPP 7.2).

Subsection 100(1) of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Privacy (Private Sector) Regulations 2001 currently prescribe exceptions to NPP 7.2, including the use and disclosure of Commonwealth employee payroll numbers by two private sector superannuation bodies for the purpose of providing Commonwealth employees with superannuation services. Schedule 2 to the Regulations lists the Commonwealth agencies that have assigned employees payroll numbers which are prescribed identifiers and which are permitted to be used and disclosed by the prescribed superannuation organisations in the prescribed circumstances.

The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment Act 2007 made amendments to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to facilitate the integration of the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) into the Attorney-General's Department. It removed the Director’s financial powers and responsibilities for the administration of the OFLC and replaced references to that agency with more appropriate references.

The purpose of these amendment Regulations was to reflect the amendments made by the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment Act 2007 by removing the reference to the OFLC in item 145 of Schedule 2 of the Privacy (Private Sector) Regulations 2001.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations have no or low impacts on business and individuals or the economy. Therefore no further regulatory analysis is required in accordance with the Government’s best practice regulation requirements. The Office of Best Practice Regulation has confirmed the preliminary assessment of the Attorney-General's Department.

The Regulations commenced on the day of commencement of Schedule 1 to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment Act 2007.
ATTACHMENT

PRIVACY (PRIVATE SECTOR) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2007 (NO. 1)

Regulation 1 describes how the Regulations are to be cited.

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment Act 2007.

Regulation 3 provides that the Privacy (Private Sector) Regulations 2001 are amended in accordance with Schedule 1 to the Regulations.

Schedule 1, Item 1 removes item 145 from Schedule 2 to the Privacy (Private Sector) Regulations 2001, which is a reference to the Office of Film and Literature Classification.