The outcome of the amended bill is better than we had feared, with scope for further improvements in 2025.
The AMA has succeeded in having amendments made to the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 in the Senate last week following weeks of intense advocacy.
We raised serious concerns that the proposed introduction of a new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy could have unintended consequences for doctors and health researchers as outlined in our submission . Our major concern was that several key exemptions that currently protect healthcare providers under the Privacy Act do not apply to the statutory tort, increasing the risk of litigation.
While the amendments we sought were not adopted in full, the government made amendments in the Senate that shift the onus to the plaintiff to prove no countervailing public interest and allow the court to consider public health without requiring the defendant to lodge evidence. These improvements reduce the risk of spurious claims. The government also made some amendments to the Explanatory Memorandum which acknowledge the importance of health care and medical research.
We will continue to work with other stakeholders over the coming months to seek additional amendments as part of the next tranche of amendments to the Act. In particular, we want the current exemptions in the Act for the provision of healthcare and health research to apply to the statutory tort.
Our advocacy on this Bill included letters from AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen to the Senate Legal Affairs Committee Chair and key politicians in government and opposition, dozens of emails, text messages and phone calls to members of the Senate crossbench, and a meeting with staff from the Attorney General's Office and the Minister for Health and Aged Care's Office. We also engaged Medical Defence Organisations and health research bodies who we will continue to work with over the coming months.
