"Business as usual" says Federal Privacy Commissioner

WITH a large privacy law reform agenda before federal parliament this year, Karen Curtis says her office will remain focused on "business as usual". <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) --><!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->

The big-ticket item for government is a planned rewrite of the Privacy Act for the digital age, in response to recommendations by the Australian Law Reform Commission. But ahead of this revamp is the Healthcare Identifiers Bill, now before parliament.

If passed, the bill will lock in rules for the operation of the new national patient identity numbers regime under the present patchwork of state and federal privacy laws -- which the overhaul of the Privacy Act was intended to fix.

Meanwhile, bills covering reform of Freedom of Information laws and the creation of a twin agency, the Office of the Information Commissioner, are presently before a Senate inquiry.

Curtis says her office is busier than ever, as privacy issues affect people from all walks of life and cut across public, private and community sectors.

"We've put a lot of effort into consultation, because I reckon one of the best ways to get better outcomes on privacy is by influencing policy development in the early stages," she says.

Curtis flags the Rudd government's welfare payments and services delivery reform as a key issue this year, following Human Services Minister Chris Bowen's decision to merge Medicare and Centrelink back-office functions -- IT, personnel and property -- late last year.

"We'll be working with the department on these changes," Curtis says.

"My understanding is that there's no intention to combine the information in those databases, so that Medicare and Centrelink data will be kept entirely separate.

"But with co-located offices, and perhaps shared staff down the track, there will be issues about information-sharing. Under the one-stop-shop approach, for example, Medicare could update your contact details across all the agencies you deal with, provided you give consent.

"So we need to find the right balance between providing better service and reducing costs, and removing people's right to choose how they interact with government departments."

The growing use of biometric systems both by governments and business is also on Curtis's radar: "On biometrics, I think it would be sensible to stop and take stock of what's happening in this country. Increasingly, there are state government projects based on facial recognition, federally our passports include biometrics, and businesses are using these systems for everything from security access to buildings to computer log-ons."

 

Karen Dearne, The Australian. March 02, 2010.