Privacy Regulation and e-Research

Abstract

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner appreciates the kind invitation from the Law Faculty at Queensland University of Technology to present at the 2007 Legal Framework for e-Research Conference. This legal framework project coincides with a key period for privacy regulation in Australia, most significantly due to the current inquiry into privacy law being conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC). At the same time, public policy is increasingly examining how best to facilitate research interests through the use of personal information. The Office notes, for example, the National Data Network initiative,2 as well as the inquiry conducted by the Productivity Commission3 into the role of research in Australia, to which the Office made a submission.4 In this chapter I aim to provide a brief overview of federal information privacy regulation, particularly as it applies to health and medical research, as well as to thumbnail possible opportunities for reform that may emerge from the current ALRC inquiry. These opportunities are discussed in detail in the Office’s submission to that inquiry, available from our website.5