Data & Privacy

Funding for innovative data use creates exciting opportunities

The Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Transformation, Michal Keenan, announced on 1 May that the Government would create a framework for a Consumer Data Right, establish a new National Data Commissioner and implement greater sharing of public data via a new legislative framework. This announcement was in response to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into data availability and use, released in May 2017. Therefore it has come as no surprise that funding to take these steps was provided in the budget.

The budget provided for:

  • Approximately $45 million over four years to develop a Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework within the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). This will provide consumers with the right to access, and require transfer of, specific data around transactions, usage and products, in a digital format. The Government will initially roll out the CDR in the banking sector, with the energy and telecommunications sectors following shortly after that. Eventually, the CDR would be rolled out economy-wide. This funding will be allocated as follows:
    • the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which will have an oversight role to ensure the system operates as intended and supports both competition and good consumer outcomes, will receive additional funding of approximately $20 million over four years. This is to assist the ACCC to determine the costs and benefits of designating sectors that will be subject to the CDR and to develop and implement CDR rules and the content of data standards
    • the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), which will have responsibility for individual consumer complaints and will assess the privacy impact of designating sectors subject to the CDR, will receive $13 million in additional funding over four years
    • the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), which will have a role as the Government's data standards setter, will receive $11.5 million over the same period
  • $20.5 million over four years for the development of a legislative public data sharing and release framework, which will be implemented by the new National Data Commissioner. The National Data Commissioner will be responsible for developing guidance on data sharing arrangements, monitoring and addressing risks and ethical considerations on data use and managing the process for high value data sets. The Australian Bureau of Statistics will provide technical guidance to Government agencies in relation to the release of data sets, particularly in relation to de-identification.

The Government's full vision for the new CDR is still not entirely clear. For example, the budget papers refer to the CDR in the context of infrastructure investment, noting that the right will enable the better use of existing infrastructure through the better collection and use of data, suggesting that Government itself will have an interest in the data made available to consumers, provided appropriate protections are in place. Notwithstanding that there is still a level of detail that needs to be provided by the Government, these proposals are very exciting – there is a significant potential to productively use the vast quantities of data that not only the public sector, but the private sector, holds to improve the lives of Australians. The funding provided in the budget is a step in the right direction!

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.