Compensation & Penalties for Privacy Data Breaches under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) – Updated – March 2020

The Australian privacy law provides for an individual affected by a data privacy breach to seek compensation from the organisation involved in the breach. In this article, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants also provides a review and summary of the compensation awarded in determinations made during the years 2016-30 June 2020 by the Office of the Australian Information Privacy Commissioner in relation to privacy breaches and some of the factors taken into account by the Privacy Commissioner in awarding compensation and costs.

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Damages for On-line Defamation – Recent Cases – July 2019 to September 2020

Recent awards of damages by courts for on-line defamation continue to serve as a warning to all using the internet that care must be taken to ensure that there is a factual basis for what is published. In Rush v Nationwide News Pty Limited (No 7) [2019] the Federal Court rejected the Respondent’s justification defence on the basis of lack of credibility of its principal witness and failure to corroborate the principal witness’ evidence, resulting in actor Geoffrey Rush being awarded almost $2.9 million in damages – including $850,000 for non-economic loss including aggravated damages – a damages award which was upheld on appeal by the Full Federal Court.

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Competition Law – Resale Price Maintenance and On-line Market Places – October 2020

Business models for distribution and supply of goods or services through retail stores or on-line market places may provide significant benefits where manufacturers or suppliers can control marketing, promotion and pricing. These business models require careful scrutiny to avoid the risk of breaching Australia’s competition law, which prohibits anti-competitive conduct including resale price maintenance. Strategies for risk management are discussed in this Stephens Lawyers & Consultants Update on Competition Law

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