Eleanor Dickens
Clayton Utz
Eleanor was named Public Law Lawyer of the Year and is recognised by her peers as one of Australia's Best Lawyers in Public Law.
– Best Lawyers Australia
Eleanor's extensive experience in public and administrative law, coupled with her notable focus on information law, integrity, and accountability, make Eleanor a recognized specialist in Administrative, Information and Public Law. She is also frequently called on to assist private sector clients with complex privacy and data breach matters, particularly where regulatory scrutiny, reputational exposure or cross-sector data sharing are involved.
Engaged as legal advisor in high profile and contentious statutory and regulatory investigations and reviews, advising the appointed investigators and reviewers on all aspects of the investigation process, including natural justice issues.
Acted for Queensland Departments, Universities, Statutory Authorities, Government Owned Corporations and Local Governments in relation to highly contentious and sensitive corruption investigations and associated matters.
Eleanor is the lead privacy and data protection lawyer for Clayton Utz on the Queensland Government’s Incident Response Panel — one of only three firms (and the only law firm) appointed. In 2022, she advised the State on all aspects of its largest reported data incident involving SPER infringement notices, leading the legal response on privacy obligations, regulatory engagement and risk mitigation strategy.
Advised a high-profile ASX200-listed company on its response to a significant data breach involving more than 8,000 documents, including notification to the OAIC under the Notifiable Data Breach Scheme. Eleanor coordinated integrated legal and technical advice, resulting in a successful closure of the matter with no regulatory findings or reputational impact.
Acted as legal advisor to Queensland Treasury in relation to all aspects of the management of a data breach associated with SPER notices.
Acted for a Hospital and Health Board in relation to a sensitive and contentious review and investigation into service delivery concerns.
Acted for a regulator in relation to an investigation conducted by an Ombudsman.
Conducted a review of Queensland Treasury's complaints processes including ensuring compliance with all relevant statutory and regulatory frameworks and applicable Australian standards.
Advised Queensland Universities on the management of Public Interest Disclosure investigations and corruption investigations, including on appropriate investigation procedures, liaising with external investigators and engagement with the Complainant.
Advisor to Queensland Government Departments and Regulators in relation to complex data sharing arrangements, automated decision-making processes and the use of algorithms and AI in regulatory decision-making processes.
Acted for a Government Owned Corporation, Statutory Authorities and the Queensland Information Commissioner in judicial review and other proceedings in the Queensland Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia.
Advisor to Departments and Statutory Authorities and Universities in relation to privacy issues, including privacy audits, information handling practices; functional reviews of FOI information access and privacy processes and complaints processes and data breach processes and preparedness.
Advised a private sector client in relation to a cyber incident involving unauthorised access to personal information, including notification obligations and engagement with the OAIC.
Advise a range of private sector clients on all aspects of privacy including privacy risk assessments, policies reviews, data and information management practices, data sharing and automated decision-making, privacy decision-making, privacy complaints and advice regarding GDPR compliance.
Advisor to Queensland Government Departments, Local Governments, Government Owned Corporations, Universities, Statutory Authorities and Local Governments and individuals in relation to all aspects of the RTI Act including assistance and advice in respect of complex and contentious RTI access applications; discrete advice on specific issues; internal and external review processes and QCAT appeals.