The Western Australian Government is drafting new laws that will create a robust data privacy regime that will manage personal data and improve government services. 

According to an article from Lexology, the new laws will provide government agencies with the opportunity to improve the delivery of their services to the public moving forward. 

While other States and Territories already have specific data privacy laws, WA Government plans to fill the legislative gap for public sector agencies that are not covered by the Privacy Act 1988. 

Under the proposed laws, the WA Government plans to introduce Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) to deal with the collection, use, disclosure and handling of personal information by the public sector. 

The IPPs are said to be allowed to extend to contracted service providers if required. 

Aside from this, the laws also look to implement the Responsible Sharing Principles (RSPs), a framework that will assist public sector organisations to weigh the benefits and risks of data-sharing arrangements. 

This statutory mechanism for the state’s public sector organisations will enable them to responsibly share personal information with one another.   

A Privacy Commissioner and a Chief Data Officer will also be appointed under the new laws as they will be responsible for managing the new data privacy regime. The Privacy Commissioner in particular will be in charge of the mandatory data breach notification scheme, which is yet to be implemented. 

The new laws also look to support Aboriginal personal information sovereignty and governance by ensuring Aboriginal people and communities are involved in terms of their personal information. 

The laws that are to be implemented by the WA Government within the coming months are well-timed given recent data breaches across sectors as well as cyber security reforms across the federal government. 

WA’s public sector organisations and its partners are advised to start looking at the steps they can take in preparation for the new laws.

Source: Lexology. Content has been edited for style and length. 

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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