Statutory Tort for Serious Invasions of Privacy
Australia's new private right to sue for serious privacy invasions, in force since 2025, which also enables privacy class actions.
Full definition
Introduced by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Royal Assent 10 December 2024) and in effect from 2025, this statutory tort lets individuals in Australia sue for serious invasions of privacy, whether intrusion upon seclusion or misuse of information, where the invasion is serious and the privacy interest outweighs competing public interests. It is significant because it opens the door to privacy class actions, a genuine private remedy that the Privacy Act 1988 previously lacked. It sits alongside tiered civil penalties (top tier up to AUD $50M / 30% of turnover) and stronger OAIC enforcement powers introduced in the same reform.
Source: New serious-invasion-of-privacy tort (National Law Review)
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