The Australian Government has announced plans for the next stage of reforms to Australia's Privacy Act. In this episode, we explain what changes are proposed in the exposure draft Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026, and what it means for organisations.
In sum, the reforms represent a real philosophical shift. The centrepiece is a new fair and reasonable test, which we have previously called a “pub test for privacy”.
We also talk about the implications of a broadened definition of personal information, stronger consent standards, restrictions on data trading, a right of erasure, new sensitive information categories, and uplifted data breach response expectations.
Links
Exposure draft https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-reform/
Mainstream news coverage (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/attorney-general-says-no-ban-on-smart-glasses-draft-privacy-…
Article on Privacy Act reforms (IAPP) https://iapp.org/news/a/australia-publishes-initial-proposals-for-second-wave-of-privacy-act-reforms
Article on marketing/media industry response (Mi3) https://www.mi-3.com.au/01-09-2026/most-significant-overhaul-australian-privacy-law-more-decade-fai…
Analysis of fair and reasonable test (The Conversation) https://theconversation.com/australia-is-eyeing-a-world-first-fair-and-reasonable-test-for-data-col…
Credits
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
