Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Schedule 2, Statutory Tort for Serious Invasions of Privacy
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 10 June 2025.
An enforcement supervision rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- An individual may sue for damages or an injunction for a serious invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion or misuse of information, subject to the exemptions in Part 3 of Schedule 2 (including for journalism).
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Federal Court of Australia or a court of a State or Territory with jurisdiction under Schedule 2
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Creates a new statutory tort giving an individual a cause of action for a serious invasion of privacy, by intrusion upon seclusion or by misuse of information, where the person invading privacy intended or was reckless as to the invasion and a reasonable person would consider it serious.
The Federal Register of Legislation's amendment-history endnote for the Privacy Act records this Schedule as commencing 10 June 2025, the six-month backstop date under the amending Act's own commencement table because no earlier Proclamation was recorded.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
official consolidated Act text, Federal Register of Legislation