The Privacy Commissioner has launched new information to guide businesses on how to handle personal information. Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, described the Privacy Impact Assessment Guide (PIA Guide) as a tool for companies to use when working on projects that use the personal information of consumers. “Businesses should use the PIA Guide in the early stages of any project or product they are developing which involves the handling of personal information. The guide is easy-to-use, and includes a module specifically designed for the private sector”, she said. Online payment service, PayPal has thrown its support behind the guide. “PayPal supports any initiative that raises awareness of the importance of privacy and improves the security of Australian citizens’ details both on and offline. Privacy and security are the heart of our business”, Paypal managing director, Frerk-Malte Feller, said. Unlike the US, reporting privacy breaches is currently not mandatory under Australian privacy law. While there have been many calls for legislation to include civil penalties for data breaches, the Australian government is still reviewing recommendations as part of the second stage response to the Australian Law Reform Commission Report (ALRC) that was released in October of last year. “The government, in its first stage response to the ALRC report, has already agreed in principle to the application of civil penalties for serious privacy breaches where other compliance-orientated enforcement methods are not sufficient,” Curtis said in an email to CIO. “The government will consider the issue of data breach notification as a part of its second stage response to the ALRC’s report,” she said. She said it was too soon to speculate on whether Australian businesses will be given a grace period if civil penalties for privacy breeches were enforced. “This will depend on the outcome of the privacy law reform process,” she said. Related content News Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers, including some at AWS The latest round of Amazon layoffs will impact AWS, Twitch, advertising and PXT, CEO Andy Jassy said. By Jon Gold Mar 20, 2023 3 mins Technology Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost What’s next for network operations Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Serge Lucio, Vice President and General Manager, Agile Operations Division Mar 20, 2023 8 mins IT Leadership Networking BrandPost Digital transformation obstacles: Stubborn challenges, what to do about them Value Stream Management is an increasingly essential approach to strategic transformation initiatives. To help teams more fully capitalize on the opportunities it presents, Broadcom is holding its third annual VSM Summit. By Marla Schimke, Head of Product and Growth Marketing, Broadcom's Enterprise Software Division Mar 20, 2023 3 mins Devops Software Development Feature CEO directives: Top 5 initiatives for IT leaders As organizations change course with economic gyrations, collaboration between IT and business becomes priority No. 1 for CEOs. By Stacy Collett Mar 20, 2023 7 mins IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe