(Image: AAP/Private Media)
As the federal government reviews privacy legislation, privacy and legal groups have sounded the alarm over a new bill that would make it easier for government agencies to share information with other government and non-government organisations, including businesses and researchers.
On Tuesday the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration held a hearing into the bill at which interim national data commissioner Deborah Anton argued the changes would open up existing data to improve government.
“The bill seeks to progress a necessary set of reforms to modernise [public service] data-sharing practices, to set higher and consistent standards, and to add additional transparency to ensure the public know what is being done with their data,” she said.
The interim national data commissioner has defended data-sharing laws before parliament that will make it easier for third parties to access personal information.
The proposed data availability and transparency bill will let federal government agencies share information with third parties and researchers, including the private data of individuals.
Interim commissioner Deborah Anton conceded the nation s data trove was of interest to others, including foreign governments, but said the bill was about making effective public policy and raising standards across the public service. There are both increased benefits and increased risks, she told a parliamentary committee hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.
By Justin Hendry on Apr 20, 2021 3:04PM
No access under planned data sharing laws without accreditation.
A privacy impact assessment of the federal government’s planned public sector data sharing scheme has called for agencies to be subject to the same accreditation requirements as the private sector.
The independent PIA [pdf], released last week, is the third assessment of the reforms, which are bookended as the
Data Availability and Transparency Bill (DATB) currently before parliament.
If passed, the bill will allow accredited users and data service providers (ADSPs) to access data for three purposes: service delivery, informing policy and programs and research and development.