Australia already has a Privacy Act from 1998 on which the guidelines are based. Significant parts of the Act do not come into force until 21st December 2001 and the guidelines, when finalised, will explain how the Privacy Commissioner intends to apply the Act’s provisions.
Consultations on the draft guidelines end 6th July 2001 and the final National Privacy Principles Guidelines will be published early October 2001.
More information can be found at the Australian Privacy Commissioner’s web site, www.privacy.gov.au