LATEST CO. RELEASEOn 11 August 2008, the Australian Law Reform...

LATEST CO. RELEASE



On 11 August 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) (www.alrc.gov.au) released its long-awaited
review of Australian Privacy laws. For the interest of shareholders and the market, and on behalf of its wholly owned
subsidiary Data-inCrypt® Pty Ltd, Synergy Equities Group Limited (“SYNERGY”, ASX : SYG) provides this report
on how the ALRC’s key recommendations can positively impact on sales / revenues of SMX secure registered email.
background
On 31 January 2006, the ALRC received Terms of Reference (scope) from the Australian Attorney-General for an
inquiry into the extent to which the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and related laws (“the Act”) continue to provide an effective
framework for the protection of privacy in Australia. The current Act is the product of a previous inquiry started by the
ALRC in 1976 and culminating in the 1983 Privacy report. Although it is only 20 years old, the current Act was
introduced before the advent of supercomputers, the Internet, mobile phones, digital cameras, e-commerce, sophisticated
surveillance devices and social networking websites.
This latest inquiry was prompted by a number of considerations, including:
�� the rapid advances in information, communication, storage, surveillance and other relevant technologies;
�� possible changing community perceptions of privacy and the extent to which it should be protected by legislation;
�� the expansion of state and territory legislative activity in relevant areas; and
�� emerging areas that may require privacy protection.
recommendations
The ALRC’s final report, “For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice” (ALRC 108) was delivered to
the Australian Attorney-General on 30 May 2008 and will be tabled in Parliament before 28 August 2008. The threevolume,
2700 page report recommends 295 changes to Australian privacy laws and practices.
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The key ALRC recommendations that can positively impact on sales / revenues of SMX secure registered email are:
�� the Act be “technology neutral, but technology aware”;
�� the removal of some exemptions, including those relating to small business, political parties and employee records
within the private sector (all of these are currently exempt from the Act);
�� the introduction of stronger penalties for privacy breaches (there are currently no civil penalties for serious
contraventions of the Act, only limited – and rarely used – criminal penalties for credit reporting and Tax File
Number offences); and
�� that organisations be required to notify affected individuals when their personal information has been compromised
(this is currently not the case).
Further information can be obtained from the websites of the Australian Law Reform Commission (www.alrc.gov.au)
and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.gov.au).