Your Privacy, Protected: What the New Privacy Law Means for You

Effective from 10 June 2025

Australia has just introduced a major legal change that could impact you, your family, and your business: a new law that lets people sue for serious invasions of their privacy.

It's part of a broader update to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and it’s called the Statutory Tort for Serious Invasions of Privacy.

Here’s what it means:

What is the New Privacy Tort?

From 10 June 2025, you now have a legal right to sue someone if they seriously invade your privacy. This includes:

• Physically intruding on your private space

  (e.g., filming inside your home or spying without consent)

  
  

• Using your private information improperly

  (e.g., leaking personal emails, texts, or medical records)

  
  

This law applies whether the person or company is bound by other privacy rules or not, even if they’re outside the usual scope of the Privacy Act.

What Do You Have to Prove?

To win a privacy claim, you need to show:

1. There was an invasion of your privacy (either by intrusion or misuse of your information)

2. You had a reasonable expectation of privacy in that situation

3. The invasion was intentional or reckless (not just careless)

4. It was serious, not trivial or accidental

5. The public interest in your privacy outweighs any other public interest (e.g., news or crime prevention)

   
   

What Can A Court Do?

A court can order the other party to:

• Pay you money for emotional distress or financial loss

• Apologise to you

• Delete private material

• Stop continuing the invasion (via injunctions)

• Correct false or damaging information

  
  

Who Is Exempt?

Some people and groups cannot be sued under this law, including:

• Journalists, in most cases, if the invasion is related to reporting news or current affairs

• Government agencies, if they act in good faith

• Police and intelligence agencies, when doing their job

• Children under 18

However, these exemptions are already drawing debate, especially around what counts as “real news” in today’s digital world.

Time Limits: Don’t Wait Too Long

You must start a claim:

• Within 1 year of discovering the invasion, or

• Within 3 years of when it happened (whichever comes first)

• For minors: before they turn 21

Why It Matters for Business

This isn’t just for individuals. If you run a business, especially one that handles customer or staff information, you need to:

• Review your privacy practices

• Train staff on respectful handling of personal data

• Audit digital systems and information-sharing policies

How Is This Different from Other Laws?

Type of Claim	Focus	Key Difference
Defamation	Reputation	Doesn’t cover private information if it's true
Breach of confidence	Secret information	Not always available if the information is public
Privacy tort	Dignity and space	Covers serious misuse or intrusion, even if the information is public or untrue

In Summary

The new law means:

• You own your privacy in a stronger legal sense

• You can take legal action when that privacy is seriously and recklessly violated

• Businesses and media must balance transparency with privacy rights

• More clarity will emerge as cases begin working through the courts

What You Should Do Next

• For individuals:

  • Think twice before sharing someone else’s private information — especially online

  • Get advice if you think your privacy has been breached

• For businesses:

  • Conduct a privacy impact assessment

  • Update internal policies

  • Train your team

Need help navigating these changes? We can guide you through what the new privacy tort means for you or your business.

Contact us: Slaters Intellectual Property Lawyers

Phone: 0411 283 776

Email: info@slaterslawyers.com

Web: www.slaterslawyers.com