In 2023, the Australian Government released the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.
9 October 2024 marked the latest in a series of legislative reforms in pursuit of that strategy, as the Cyber Security Legislative Package 2024 (Package) was introduced to Parliament. The Package has been referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for inquiry and report.
The first phase of the Government’s proposed implementation of long-anticipated reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”) was tabled in Parliament on 12 September 2024. The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (“Bill”) comes two years after the Attorney-General Department’s report (“Review”) proposed 116 recommendations to reform the Privacy Act. The Government’s response to the Review, in September 2023 (“Response”), “agreed” 38 proposals to be implemented first and this Bill addresses 23 of those proposals.
On 26 July 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) updated the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers (PS-G01), which became effective on 26 August 2024. These changes are applicable to current and future Standard Payment Institutions (SPIs) and Major Payment Institutions under the Payment Services Act (PSA).
The updates can be divided into those that relate to (i) the application process for a new MPI or SPI license or a variation of an existing license under the PSA; and (ii) those that relate to ongoing business conduct.
On 26 March 2024, the Australian Senate resolved to establish the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (“Committee”) to inquire into and report on the opportunities and impacts arising out of the adoption of AI technologies in Australia.
The Committee’s inquiry provides an important opportunity for Australian companies to shape the future direction of Australia’s AI-related regulatory reforms as the Government continues to formulate its position on the regulation of AI.
The Australian Government’s interim response to the “Safe and responsible AI in Australia” discussion paper flags a risk-based approach to AI governance in Australia including a mix of voluntary AI safety standards, voluntary labelling and watermarking for generative AI and the development of mandatory guardrails with a particular focus on high-risk and frontier AI applications.
2023 has ended with a flurry of activity from Australian authorities and regulators that provides deep insights into Australia’s current and emerging cyber threat environment and will heavily influence the development of Australia’s cyber policy in the years to come. We have pulled together key insights, important trends in the cyber threat landscape and recommendations for cyber risk management that should be of interest to all Australian businesses and directors moving into 2024 and beyond.
2023 has been a big year in Australia for developments in artificial intelligence (AI). We have pulled together the main announcements, key insights and regulatory themes to emerge this year and recommendations for risk management that will be of interest to Australian companies engaging with AI technologies into 2024 and beyond.
The Australian Government has released its much-anticipated response to the Commonwealth Attorney-General Department’s report on its review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The Report recommended wholesale amendments to Australia’s principal privacy legislation and contained 116 proposals for consideration by the government.