Telecommunications

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The Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) contains a number of provisions dealing with the privacy of personal information held by carriers, carriage service providers and others.

Part 6 provides for the development of industry codes and standards in a range of consumer protection and privacy areas. The Privacy Commissioner must be consulted on any privacy codes. The codes are voluntary in the first instance, but breaches can be enforceable by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Part 13 sets out strict rules for carriers, carriage service providers and others in their use and disclosure of personal information.

The Privacy Commissioner has the role under the Telecommunications Act of monitoring compliance with Part 13, Division 5 of the Act. This part of the Act obliges carriers and carriage service providers to make records of all disclosures of personal information (with only a few exceptions). It also requires disclosure to law enforcement agencies only in specified circumstances.