The Wire

Australia will finally have its own mandatory data breach notification scheme in the form of the Privacy Amendment Bill within this year, requiring companies to disclose eligible data breaches to customers and the Privacy Commissioner. The new legislation will require companies to inform customers and the Privacy Commissioner of eligible data breaches within thirty days, disclosing information on what was taken and other details. Organisations who fail to comply with the new notification scheme will be “deemed to be an interference with the privacy of an individual,” attracting a maximum penalty of three hundred and sixty thousand for individuals, and a one million, eight hundred thousand penalty for corporate bodies.