The Western Australia Government has passed two new laws to inform and strengthen the protection and handling of citizens’ personal information held by the government.
The Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Bill 2024 (PRIS Bill) will boost privacy protections for Western Australians and also ensure information exchange is performed in a safe and secure environment between government departments and agencies and trusted third-party entities.
The Information Commissioner Bill 2024 (IC Bill) will establish the offices of Information Commissioner, Information Access Deputy Commissioner and Privacy Deputy Commissioner. The legislation arms the Information Commissioner and Privacy Deputy Commissioner with “robust powers to consider and resolve privacy complaints”.
It will also see a Chief Data Officer appointed to spearhead efforts within the public sector to enable responsible information sharing.
“Introducing strong and modern privacy protections for individuals is more important today than ever before,” Attorney General, John Quigley, said.
“Western Australians should be able to say that their State Government values and respects their privacy as much as they do.
“These reforms will provide assurance to Western Australians that the Government is managing their personal information responsibly and securely by adopting time-tested privacy principles from privacy laws around Australia.”
The PRIS Bill also establishes a mandatory reporting regime for “notifiable information breaches” to the new Information Commissioner as well as any Western Australian who may be affected by a breach involving their personal information.
It also legislates new privacy guidelines for government departments and agencies to handle personal information using “approved systems and processes”.
“These new laws are an important legislative step to ensure Western Australians’ personal information is protected,” Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson said.
“As the primary custodians of key data sets which has been provided by the community, it’s our responsibility to ensure they are used to make better decisions, deliver seamless public services and drive innovation for public benefit.
“The successful passing of the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing legislation is a major win by the Cook Government in building WA’s digital future in a safe and responsible manner with a framework of accountability.”
