The WA Government has passed new laws aimed at ensuring the strong protection and safe handling of Western Australians’ personal information held by Government.
The Government says its Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Bill 2024 (PRIS Bill) will modernise and strengthen privacy protections for Western Australians, while also enabling the safe and secure sharing of information across Government and with trusted external entities.
“Introducing strong and modern privacy protections for individuals is more important today than ever before,” said Attorney General, John Quigley.
“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 introduces new privacy principles to guide WA’s public sector agencies on approved systems and processes to handle personal information.
This PRIS Bill includes a scheme for mandatory reporting of “notifiable information breaches” to the Information Commissioner and affected individuals to ensure Western Australians are kept well informed of any serious breaches involving their personal information.
“These new laws are an important legislative step to ensure Western Australians’ personal information is protected,” said Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister, Stephen Dawson.
“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.”
In addition, the Government has passed the Information Commissioner Bill 2024 (IC Bill), which establishes and makes provision for the offices of Information Commissioner, Information Access Deputy Commissioner and Privacy Deputy Commissioner. The new Information Commissioner and Privacy Deputy Commissioner will be equipped with robust powers to consider and resolve privacy complaints, the Government said in a statement.
A Chief Data Officer will also be established to lead and develop public sector capability for responsible information sharing. The Chief Data Officer will promote a culture of transparency, accountability and safe use of Government information, the Government says.
For more information about the Bill, visit wa.gov.au/government/privacy-and-responsible-information-sharing.
