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Protecting health information privacy in research: how much law do Australians need?
Author(s) -
Thomson Colin J H
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb07062.x
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , privacy law , legislation , commonwealth , privacy policy , information privacy , privacy by design , state (computer science) , political science , compliance (psychology) , information privacy law , business , internet privacy , law , ftc fair information practice , privacy laws of the united states , public administration , law and economics , sociology , computer science , psychology , social psychology , algorithm , programming language
Privacy regulation in Australia, whether by federal or state legislation or other means, has provoked complaints from researchers. Its scope depends on defining the information it covers, the organisations it governs and the principles it applies. Regulation is inconsistent, and compliance can be complex (as illustrated by a hypothetical research example). National reform to achieve a realistic, balanced, publicly acceptable and consistent regulation is urgently needed, and has been recognised and recommended by recent reviews of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 (Cwlth) by the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner and the Australian Senate.