This material is drawn from a note by the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office (Link to CSO).
With the passage of the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth), a new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy will enter Australian law six months after the Bill receives assent.
There will be exemptions for invasions of privacy by a State authority or a staff member of an authority if the invasion of privacy occurs, in good faith, in the performance or purported performance of a function of the authority, or in the exercise or purported exercise of a power of the authority. There will also be exemptions for law enforcement bodies.
The elements of the tort will include a requirement that the public interest in the plaintiff’s privacy outweigh any countervailing public interest (including the proper administration of government), and there will be a defence for invasions of privacy which are required or authorised by law.
As for remedies, the new tort will confer on an individual a cause of action for serious invasions of privacy. A court will be able to award damages to the plaintiff, as well as other remedies, if appropriate.
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