Australian Privacy Foundation

This page contains APF in the Media, APF's Media Contacts and APF's Media Releases

APF in the Media

APF provides substantial public resources and frequent background briefings for the media. APF is also quoted in press reports of the order of 60 times each year.
Here are 2013 and 2012 searches for APF-related news using the privacy-sensitive search-engine Startpage/IXQuick.
Here are searches on news outlets at The Age, SMH, Canberra Times, Murdoch Media, ABC News, Computerworld. The Australian IT Section (to 2012)

Media Contacts

Media enquiries should be directed as follows:

Health Matters:

Chair, Health Committee – (Dr) Bernard Robertson-Dunn – 0411 157 113

Privacy Matters Generally:

Chair – David Vaile – 0414 731 249 , Sydney
Secretary – Bruce Arnold – (02) 6201 2710, Canberra
Vice-Chair – Holly Raiche – (02) 9436 2149, Sydney
Vice-Chair – Roger Clarke – (02) 6288 6916, Canberra

Media Releases

The APF issues Media Releases sparingly, because there are usually more effective ways to represent the public interest in privacy. Here are recent media releases and related materials:

Should Business be Free to Ignore Consumer Consent and Privacy??, also in html (14 May 2017)
Privacy in Australasia Gets a Boost, also in html (8 May 2017)
There's a Bully in Town ... and it's perfectly legal (10 Mar 2017)
Time to Talk about Protecting Human Rights, also in html (5 Mar 2017)
Federal Court Decision Guts the Privacy Act (19 Jan 2017)
Telstra Decision Due Tomorrow (18 Jan 2017)
The Imminent Threat of Automated Government, also in html (18 Jan 2017)

#CensusInquiryFail (25 Nov 2016)
Productivity Commission Sucked in by Business and Government (4 Nov 2016)
ABS's Census-Fail Blame Game (27 Sep 2016)
Scrap the census, start again (10 August 2016)
Privacy Scoresheet: Coalition and Labor treat privacy and data security with contempt. Greens and Pirate Party lead the way' (23 Jun 2016)
The Budget Slashes Privacy Protection (5 May 2016)
What is the government really intending to do with our health data? (5 May 2016)
Government's My Health Record, a Privacy Disaster (21 Apr 2016)
ABS goes rogue: Orwellian plan to store Census Name and Address for years (12 Apr 2016)
Government announces opt-out trials for health record but forgets to explain how to opt-out (6 Mar 2016)

ANAO and Human Rights Committee highly critical of Health Department performance (2 Dec 2015)
Is this why the government really wants your health data? (30 Nov 2015)
Treat anonymised data as personal information (20 Nov 2015)
PCEHR and Opt-Out (31 Oct 2015)
Not Smart Online! Data Retention launches Full of Holes (13 Oct 2015)
Stay Smart Online: Protect Yourself Against Data Retention (13 Oct 2015)
Data Retention Bill Fails Every Test (5 Feb 2015)
Human Rights as a Brake on Tyranny (4 Feb 2015)
Privacy advocates win significant improvements in APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (29 Jan 2015)

Privacy Coalition Opposes APEC Manoeuvres (5 Dec 2014)
By all means, say goodbye to the OAIC, but not to privacy! (16 May 2014)
Sir Zelman Cowen Essay Competition (21 Mar 2014)
The INSLM is the wrong target (21 Mar 2014)
The Immigration Data Breach Must be Independently Investigated (19 Feb 2014)
Governments Have No Place in the Bedroom (15 Jan 2014)

Complaint Filed with Spy Authorities (4 Dec 2013)
Australian Spy Agencies Spook Australians: Investigation and Control Essential (4 Dec 2013)
Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) (3 Nov 2013)
The Libs' Sneaky Claim for a Mandate to Filter (5 Sep 2013)
Tweedledum and Tweedledee Hostile to Privacy (18 Aug 2013)
PCEHR Promotion Misleads the Public (13 Aug 2013)
Better Processes to Protect Privacy (28 Apr 2013)
Conroy’s Media Proposals are Late, Timid and Inadequate (18 Mar 2013)

Beware the Statistics Grinch this Christmas (18 Dec 2012)
Attorney-General Treating Public and Parliament 'Like Mushrooms' about Communications Data Retention Wish-list (12 Oct 2012)
APF's 25-Year Milestone (12 Jul 2012)
Michael Kirby, Elizabeth Evatt and Privacy (10 Jul 2012)
'Anti-Privacy Bill' Should be Scrapped (23 May 2012)

ACMA Refuses to Protect Privacy (22 Dec 2011)
High Court Declines Opportunity To Consider Privacy In iinet Case Mass Surveillance To Follow? (06 Dec 2011)
NEHTA Blacklists Privacy Advocate on a Pretext and Supporting Material (15 Nov 2011)
Census 2011 Public Advisory Statement (2 Aug 2011)
Big Brother Awards Winners (21 Apr 2011)

Back to the ID Card That Will Not Die (20 August 2010)
Coalition to Use Health Identifier to Revive Identity Card (20 August 2010)
New Evidence: The Health Identifiers Bill (18 June 2010)
Clarification re Figures on Identity Theft (1 June 2010)
Healthcare Identifiers (28 May 2010)

Response to the Privacy Commissioner's Awards (15 November 2009)
Big Brother Awards - 2009 (11 November 2009)
Telstra cashing in on your privacy (20 August 2009)
Media need not fear Privacy Proposals (17 August 2009)
Leading Privacy Group Rejects Medical Code (11 August 2009)
Facebook in privacy trouble – millions of Australian users affected (21 July 2009)
Erosion of Patient Health Privacy Rights as part of Expanded Medicare Audits (16 April 2009), and reply from Medicare (24 April 2009)

Mass Surveillance of Motor Vehicles (ANPR) (21 September 2008)
Privacy Awareness Weak – Be Aware, and Alarmed (25 August 2008)
Google puts privacy up front (6 July 2008)
Search and you may find – Can you find Google's Privacy Policy? (8 June 2008)
The petrol crisis – fuel for future privacy violations? [Qld SmartCard] (2 June 2008)

The Major Parties Fail the Privacy Test (11 November 2007)
Military DNA (1 November 2007)
The Ad Campaign You Won't Be Seeing (for AML-CTF) (22 October 2007)
Internet Censorship Bill (20 September 2007)
Access Card fast resembling a train wreck (4 June 2007)
New Minister contradicts his own Department on ID fraud (6 March 2007)
Access Card: What's the rush? (28 Feb 2007)
What does the Government have to hide? [Access/ID card] (7 Feb 2007)
National ID Scheme Information Site Released (4 Feb 2007)
N.S.W. asleep at the wheel on privacy (1 Feb 2007)
2006 Australian Big Brother Awards - The winners! (22 Jan 2007) - plus Attachment
Access Card – Poor Process, Dangerous Product (15 January 2007)

Refreshed Board Elected (29 November 2006)
Access Card will be our national ID card Letter to AFR (9 November 2006)
Hockey shows his true colours on ID Card (9 November 2006)
Australians' banking records get a SWIFT kick - straight to the USA (13 October 2006)
Nominations open for Big Brother Awards 2006 (3 October 2006)
Rights and wrongs in smartcard debate (2 October 2006, Letter published in AFR)
Never surrender in privacy fight (4 July 2006, Letter published in AFR)
So-called ‘Access Card’ worse than Australia Card (June 13 2006)
National ID Card Proposals: Spot the Difference? Comparison chart (June 13 2006)
What does Joe Hockey have to hide? (May 25 2006)
ID card flaws in budget strategy (8 May 2006)
Will the real ID card please stand up? - the 'Smart' card (28 April 2006)
Privacy left off the prescription (SMH, 6 Apr 2006)
Hunter patients' privacy at risk (21 Mar 2006)
Manly Pub's Storage of Drivers' Licence Details (21 Mar 2006)
Why Australia Card Mark II is still a dumb idea (Aust. Policy Online, 27 Jan 2006), original here

Bigger Brother signals the death of financial privacy (19 Dec 2005)
Big Brother Award-Winners Announced (8 Nov 2005)
Shortlist for the Big Brother Awards Announced (3 Nov 2005)
Open Letter to Coalition MPs re a National Id Scheme (28 July 2005)
Health records - One Big Database, One Bad Idea? (28 June 2005)
Census - Big Brother to watch the Days of our Lives? (8 June 2005)
The politics of privacy - political donations: privacy or secrecy? (24 May 2005)
NSW Workplace Surveillance Bill - no relief from snooping bosses (17 May 2005)
NSW Photo ID Card - NSW Govt trampling on privacy and freedom (29 April 2005)
Article in AFR re ePassport Security (19 April 2005)
Letter in AFR re ePassport Security (14 April 2005)
NSW Photo ID Card - No-one home at Privacy NSW (8 April 2005)
NSW Photo ID Card - Bill passes Lower House (6 April 2005)
NSW Photo ID Card (22 March 2005)
Surveillance Devices Bill 2004 (Cth) (25 January 2005)
Document Verification System (21 January 2005)

BBA Awards - Australia's worst privacy invaders named and shamed (25 November 2004)
Responses to A.P.F's Election Challenge (3 October 2004)
Call for Big Brother Award Nominations (8 September 2004)
A.P.F. 's Election Challenge (19 August 2004)

Attorney-General Wins Privacy Lifetime Menace Award (8 September 2003)
Cameras in Mobile Phones (7 August 2003)
Australian Privacy Foundation Announces Big Brother Awards (23 June 2003)
Howard Government Wins Global Award for Stupid Security Campaign (9 April 2003)
Australians Invited To Help Find The World's Most Stupid Security (9 March 2003)

A Campaign For Fair Privacy Laws was conducted during the development of the Privacy Commissioner's National Principles for the Fair Handling of Personal Data during 1997 and 1998, and highlighted the utter inadequacy of self-regulatory arrangements. The Campaign included the following Media Releases:

Government Move On Privacy Laws Welcomed(16 Dec 1998)
Direct Marketing Code Exposes Govt's Failure To Protect Privacy (9 Nov 1998)
Privacy Betrayal in N.S.W. (28 Sep 1998)
OGIT Fails to Dispel Privacy Fears (6 May 1998)
Privacy Legislation Still Needed (20 February 1998)
Voluntary Code Leaves Privacy Exposed (19 August 1997)