Australia is moving toward a significant expansion of individual privacy rights with proposed reforms that would give citizens a new “right to erasure,” allowing them to demand that large digital platforms destroy personal information they hold. The Albanese government’s draft Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 would also impose a “fair and reasonable” standard on data collection, strengthen requirements for meaningful consent, and restrict companies from trading personal information without clear permission. The initiative responds to mounting concerns over artificial intelligence, data breaches, identity theft, connected devices, and increasingly sophisticated surveillance technology, including smart glasses capable of discreet recording. The proposal represents the next stage of Australia’s broader effort to modernize its Privacy Act, but its ultimate impact will depend heavily on exemptions, enforcement mechanisms, and safeguards ensuring that legitimate privacy interests do not become a means of suppressing lawful information or burdening ordinary businesses.
Key Takeaways
- Australians could gain a formal “right to erasure,” enabling individuals to request that personal information held by large social-media and search platforms be destroyed.
- Companies could face stricter limits on collecting unnecessary information, repurposing data in unexpected ways, or buying and selling information such as shopping habits, online interests, and location data without meaningful consent.
- The reforms reflect growing concern over AI, identity theft, data breaches, and surveillance technologies, but policymakers will have to balance stronger individual control with freedom of expression, journalism, legitimate recordkeeping, and reasonable commercial needs.
In-Depth
Australia’s federal government has released draft legislation for a second round of Privacy Act reforms, proposing a “right to erasure” that would allow individuals to request deletion of personal information held by large social-media and search platforms. The package also introduces a “fair and reasonable” test intended to prevent companies from collecting unnecessary information or using it in ways consumers would not reasonably expect.
The proposal goes beyond deletion rights. It seeks stronger consent standards and tighter restrictions on businesses buying and selling personal information without clear permission. The government argues that growth in artificial intelligence, connected devices and wearable technology has made existing privacy protections inadequate. Smart glasses, which can record people discreetly, have become a prominent example of the risks lawmakers say require attention.
The reforms build on privacy legislation enacted in 2024, including a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy that took effect in June 2025. Australia currently requires covered entities to destroy or de-identify information when it is no longer needed, but it does not provide a general individual right to demand erasure comparable to protections available in Europe.
The critical question will be how lawmakers balance personal control against legitimate competing interests, including freedom of expression, journalism, recordkeeping and lawful business needs. A deletion right can strengthen individual autonomy, but poorly drawn rules could create compliance burdens or invite attempts to suppress information that legitimately belongs in the public record. The government is accepting public submissions on the draft through September 18.
Sources
- https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/modernising-australias-privacy-laws-digital-age-31-08-2026
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/attorney-general-says-no-ban-on-smart-glasses-draft-privacy-laws/107097852
- https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-reform/consult_view/
- https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/more-privacy-rights/statutory-tort-for-serious-invasions-of-privacy
- https://iapp.org/news/a/australia-publishes-initial-proposals-for-second-wave-of-privacy-act-reforms