Australia is eyeing a world-first ‘fair and reasonable’ test for data collection and privacy

On Monday, the Australian government released draft legislation for the next big overhaul of the Privacy Act. The Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 is now out for public comment, together with a consultation paper. It is the second instalment (or “tranche”) of privacy reform , and it is the one that matters most. The bill contains dozens of new measures, such as stronger consent requirements and a “right to be forgotten”, but at its heart is a world-first test that could…