Statutory Privacy Tort and ALRC Reform
Monday 2 December 2013 @ 11.15 a.m. | Torts, Damages & Civil Liability
As already reported by TimeBase, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is currently in the process of conducting a review of the issues associated with invasion of privacy in the digital era.
An inquiry commissioned by the former Labour government recommended the introduction of a statutory privacy tort, similar to those introduced in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand and the ALRC has further recommended that this go ahead in its review, also considering whether there should be any limit on the amount of monetary damages that might be awarded for breaches of a new privacy tort that Labor asked the commission to design.
However, there has been considerable backlash from the media who have revealed that the line between private and public interest can be very thin and often changes depending on the circumstances of the case.
Instead of responding to an issues paper on the design of a proposed privacy tort, publishers that produce most of the nation's newspapers have called for a more rigorous process because the need for a new cause of action has not been proved.
Although privacy is part of the Australian common law doctrine, it fits underneath the idea of "breach of confidence", although, it has been argued that privacy in the digital era is far greater than that - potentially even as large as a simple misuse of confidential information, including information of a private character.
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.
