Australians are more concerned about their privacy than ever before. How will the new 2014 Privacy Laws impact on your operations?
Australians are more concerned about their privacy than ever before and are quickly abandoning companies they believe abuse their information. With an overwhelming 97 per cent of respondents to a survey believing their personal information is misused when it is collected, it’s timely to consider how your business handles data.
In keeping with concerns about how we use data, significant changes to Australian Privacy Law will take effect in March 2014. These changes will affect all businesses dealing with customer information.
Are you aware of these new obligations? Do you intend to or currently use cloud-based services and know where your data is stored? Do you store information overseas? Do you know from where your customer information is sourced, how it is used and to whom it can be disclosed?
The new privacy reforms will have new powers, coupled with an option to apply for civil penalties of up to $1.7 million for serious breaches. Can you risk reputational and financial penalties?
Organisations should be considering implementing changes NOW to ensure that fully comply by March 2014 – particularly when it comes to electronic records. There are some simple steps you can be taking now to ensure your business conforms to the privacy law reforms.
Contact us for guidance on what the next steps are.