Privacy
Privacy law is complex, confusing and changing at a rapid rate. It also affects almost every organisation in Australia and the regulatory landscape is continually evolving. Clayton Utz's privacy lawyers are experienced and practical privacy specialists, advising in this area for many years on the full range of privacy issues which can arise for Australian and international clients, in both the public and private sectors.
Our specialist team of privacy lawyers understands that privacy is one part of a broader web of legal, commercial and social considerations that impact on our clients' businesses. We work with clients as a team, combining our knowledge and experience of the law with our clients' knowledge and experience of their organisations and the industry or sector in which they operate.
Our practical and clear advice helps clients - including those from retail, financial services, marketing and advertising, leisure and entertainment, manufacturing, transport, communications, energy and utilities, education, health, emergency services and human resources - deal with privacy law issues arising from their business activities.
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Our advice includes:
- the developing tort of privacy.
- the impact on marketing activities of privacy laws, the Spam Act and the Do Not Call Register regime.
- advice on general privacy issues such as database creation and management, mergers and acquisitions (including due diligence, completion and integration of acquired databases into existing business structures), trans-border data flows of personal information, and electronic authentication and verification.
- privacy obligations of handling health and other sensitive information, workplace surveillance and surveillance devices legislation.
- privacy compliance audits and polices.
- privacy impact assessments.
Our team's experience in the financial services sector includes advising on tax file number requirements, credit reporting and duties of customer confidentiality and the privacy aspects of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) legislation.
Experience
Toyota Motor Corporation Australia: Clayton Utz has assisted Toyota with privacy issues for many years. Our work has included:
- the development of an organisation-wide privacy program for Toyota and assistance in rolling out that program;
- developing and conducting privacy training;
- preparing privacy policies, procedures and standard form privacy collection statements and suggesting amendments to these documents as Toyota's circumstances and privacy laws have changed over time;
- advising on privacy issues arising in the context of Toyota's marketing, advertising and sponsorship activities;
- advising on dealer privacy issues; and
- providing general privacy advice to Toyota on an ongoing basis.
Australian Energy Supplier: Clayton Utz has assisted an Australian energy supplier on a wide range of privacy matters, including:
- advising on the application of the Spam Act and Do Not Call Register regime to its business activities;
- advising on its credit reporting obligations under the Privacy Act and the Credit Reporting Code of Conduct;
- preparing privacy collection statements for a suite of business documentation;
- advising on privacy issues arising in relation to marketing activities, IT outsourcing projects and other third party agreements; and
- providing general privacy advice on a range of issues on an ongoing basis.
adidas Australia: Clayton Utz has provided privacy advice to adidas for many years, including:
- advising on the privacy implications of personal information collected in Australia and held on overseas servers;
- advising on the privacy implications of a range of sponsorships and promotions conducted by adidas; and
- reviewing website content and website terms and conditions (including for adidas human resources systems).
Rural Ambulance Victoria: Clayton Utz has advised Rural Ambulance Victoria on a range of privacy issues, including:
- advising on permitted disclosures of medical reports and internal investigation reports;
- providing privacy advice on employee issues; and
- advising on IT security.
Australian Energy Supplier: Clayton Utz acted for an Australian energy supplier in response to an Own Motion Investigation of the Privacy Commissioner under section 40(2) of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) in relation to an Automated Voice System used by the energy supplier to manage the overdue accounts of its customers. The Privacy Commissioner was concerned that the automated voice system breached certain National Privacy Principles (NPP) including NPP 4.1 which requires an organisation to take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information it holds from misuse and unauthorised disclosure.
Clayton Utz assisted its client by investigating all necessary elements of its automated voice system and prepared a response to the Privacy Commissioner Own Motion Investigation. The privacy issue concerned and raised in the matter is of significant importance to private enterprise given the increasingly common usage of automated telephone and data systems.