Debt collection guideline for collectors & creditors

This guide assists creditors, collectors, collectors and debtors to understand their rights and obligations, and ensure that debt collection activity is under taken in a way that is consistent with consumer protection laws. Summary Both the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) enforce Commonwealth consumer protection laws, including laws relevant to debt collection. The ACCC and ASIC have jointly produced this guideline which aims to assist creditors, collectors and debtors understand their rights and obligations, and ensure that debt collection activity is undertaken in a way that is consistent with consumer protection laws. The guide was originally published in 2005 and has been updated to reflect significant changes to the law, such as the introduction of the Australian Consumer Law in 2011, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, and privacy laws and principles

Serious invasions of privacy in the digital era: issues paper

This Issues Paper was released on 8 October 2013, signalling the first stage of public consultation for the Serious Invasions of Privacy Inquiry. The paper provides background information and highlights issues identified by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) as relevant to the Terms of Reference. The Issues Paper asks questions not just on issues relating to a stand-alone cause of action—to allow people to sue for a serious invasion of privacy—but also about alternative ways that existing laws could be supplemented or amended to provide appropriate protection for privacy in the digital era. The ALRC invites individuals and organisations to make submissions in response to specific questions, or to any of the background material and analysis provided. The closing date for submissions was 11 November 2013

Evidence-informed regulatory practice: an adaptive response, 2005‑15

Overview: In this occasional paper, the ACMA reflects on its regulatory practice over the past 10 years; specifically, the role of research in evidence-informed decision-making and regulation. It looks at how the ACMA has used research in an environment of ongoing change to document and build evidence, inform public debate about regulation, and build capability among our stakeholders to make communications and media work in Australia’s national interest

Addressing the cyber safety challenge: from risk to resilience

Addressing the cyber safety challenge: from risk to resilience describes the cyber safety issues emerging from a range of technology trends, how different populations are using technologies and the risks they face, and how we can effectively respond to each group’s unique cyber safety needs. Written by the University of Western Sydney for Telstra Corporation Ltd, the report advocates for continuing to move cyber safety from a ‘risk and protection’ framework to one that focuses on building digital resilience, as well as fostering trust and confidence in the online environment. To do this we need to: Address the needs of populations often neglected by current policies and programs – including adults, seniors, parents, and small to medium enterprises Continue to build the digital literacy skills of all populations, because digital literacy strongly influences users’ ability to engage safely online – this is best achieved by a hands-on learning approach Keep risk in perspective – the risks and benefits of digital participation go hand in hand Broaden the focus from awareness-raising to long-term behaviour change. As digital technologies become further integrated into the everyday lives of Australians, users are potentially exposed to greater risks. However, the risks and benefits of digital participation go hand in hand. The challenge, therefore, is to support users to minimise the risks without limiting their digital participation and their capacity to derive the full benefits of connectivity. If Australians are to benefit as either consumers or providers of online services and products in the e-commerce environment, consumer safety and trust need to be improved. Cyber safety needs to be considered against a transforming backdrop of technology trends, products and practices. While the rise of social media has tended to dominate recent debate and developments in cyber safety, particularly in relation to young people, a range of other trends is also shaping how users engage online, the risks they potentially face in the new media landscape, and the strategies used to address them. These trends include the rise of user generated content and content sharing platforms; the uptake of mobile technologies and, in particular, the adoption of smartphones; cloud computing; platform integration and single sign-on mechanisms; and the rise of GPS and location based services

The legal and ethical implications of electronic patient health records and e-health on Australian privacy and confidentiality law

This thesis addresses the legal and ethical issues posed by introduction of electronic patient health records. Against the background of an analysis of broader conceptual and theoretical understandings of development of electronic patient health records (EPR) and e-health regimes in Australia and comparable countries over the last few decades, the thesis critically examines the extent to which its implementation is consistent with established legal and ethical principles underpinning traditional health assumptions and practices. To this end the thesis explores the evolution and progress of modern health, technology, law and governance issues in e-health, identifying critical features of emerging EPR and e-health systems such as broad innovative industry technology involvement, and potentially problematic practices such as personal information ‘collection’, ‘sharing’ and ‘networking’ activities. The thesis contends that while adopting technology such as e-health comports with modern day progress, the transformational power of technology on society and individual lives has the potential to impose significant human costs for health consumers and everyday life. Through an analysis of the new electronic regime the thesis reveals how Australian Governments, healthcare providers, consumers and other stakeholders interpret and deal with advances in personal healthcare information changes in the new electronic system. The healthcare privacy model advanced in the thesis, in conjunction with an analysis grounded in theories of deliberative democracy, provides the foundation for the thesis argument that the legal, ethical and democratic challenges posed to privacy and participation interests by implementation of e-health policies can best be alleviated in Australia through further structural reforms beyond those recently proposed by a federal review. The thesis contends that an independent ‘Council’, with broad powers to consult and engage the public is an important part of the solution to the political and economic problems identified by the thesis analysis showing that individual privacy protection in healthcare is threatened and that earlier privacy protection mechanisms may prove inadequate in the emerging global information era

Effective online privacy policies

Online privacy policies are important mechanisms for informing web site users about the level of information privacy protection afforded when visiting web sites. To date, societal mechanisms and technologies have been the focus of attempts to improve the quality and effectiveness of online privacy policies. Little attention, however, has been given to the development and use of organisational measures for this purpose. In this paper we present findings from an empirical study of online privacy policies, resulting in a set of organisational guidelines for effective online privacy policies, which extend the research base in this area and, more immediately, will assist companies concerned about the impact of privacy concerns on consumer web usage

Countering Social Engineering through Social Media: An Enterprise Security Perspective

The increasing threat of social engineers targeting social media channels to advance their attack effectiveness on company data has seen many organizations introducing initiatives to better understand these vulnerabilities. This paper examines concerns of social engineering through social media within the enterprise and explores countermeasures undertaken to stem ensuing risk. Also included is an analysis of existing social media security policies and guidelines within the public and private sectors.Comment: Proceedings of The 7th International Conference on Computational Collective Intelligence Technologies and Applications (ICCCI 2015), LNAI, Springer, Vol. 9330, pp. 54-6

Trends and guidelines in online privacy policy

Online privacy policies (OPP) are important mechanisms for informing online consumers about the level of information privacy protection afforded when visiting web sites. To date, societal mechanisms and technologies have been the focus of attempts to improve the quality and effectiveness of OPPs. We present findings from a longitudinal, empirical study of online privacy policies. Our research found that although online privacy policies have improved in quality and effectiveness since 2000, they still fall well short of the level of privacy assurance desired by consumers. This study analyses trends in OPPs over the two years of the study, identifying areas of deficiency and improvements, and offering a solution in the form of a detailed set of guidelines for organisational online privacy policy. Our study adds to existing theory in this area and, more immediately, will assist businesses concerned about the effect of privacy issues on consumer web usage.<br /