On May 18, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner announced that a new APS Privacy Governance Code will apply to all Australian government agencies currently subject to the Australian Privacy Principles. The current draft of the APS Code requires government agencies to: (i) implement a privacy management plan; (ii) appoint a dedicated "Privacy Officer"; (iii) appoint a "Privacy Champion" to promote attention to data privacy issues; and (iv) undertake "Privacy Impact Assessments" for all high-risk projects or initiatives that involve personal information. The APS Code was developed after the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey 2017 revealed that only 58 percent of the Australians surveyed consider government departments to be trustworthy with respect to data protection. The APS Code will take effect July 1, 2018.
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