Review laws that are currently enforceable in Australia and determine how they are similar yet different to ones that are in place here in the United States. Discuss with students the following laws mentioned in the text as described here:
Privacy Act, 1988: Regulates the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of personal information. Applies both to private and public sectors. Contains 11 information privacy principles for handling personal information by most public-sector agencies, and 10 national privacy principles for handling of personal information by nongovernment agencies.
Telecommunications Act, 1997: Updated as of October 2013; contains regulation related to the collection and storage of privacy data held by telecommunications service providers.
Corporations Act, 2001: Updated by the Corporations Regulations of 2001 and 2002; focuses on business relationships but, like SOX, contains provisions related to financial reporting and audits.
Spam Act, 2003: Legislation designed to regulate the amount of unwanted commercial marketing materials, especially via e-mail. Requires businesses to obtain consent of recipients, ensure that businesses accurately identify the recipients, and provide a mechanism by which the recipients may unsubscribe from commercial messages.
Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill, 2011: Designed to align Australian laws with the European Convention on Cybercrime (see next section); the bill specifies information that communications carriers and Internet service providers must retain and surrender when requested by law enforcement.