Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMENDMENT (INTEGRATED PUBLIC NUMBER DATABASE) BILL 2009

                                  2008-2009

               THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

                                   SENATE


 TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMENDMENT (INTEGRATED PUBLIC NUMBER DATABASE) BILL 2009

                    SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM


             Amendments to be moved on behalf of the Government


The amendments make minor changes to the Telecommunications Amendment
(Integrated Public Number Database) Bill 2009 to require emergency
management persons to give a written notice to a person (the discloser)
when seeking to use or disclose Integrated Public Number Database data for
a purpose connected with providing emergency warnings or for the reasonable
testing of emergency warning arrangements.

Amendment (1) The proposed amendments will make minor changes to proposed
new paragraph 285A(1)(c) of the Bill, to include a requirement that an
emergency management person give a written notice to the discloser, stating
that the emergency management person will only use or disclose information
from, or documents consisting of, information contained in the IPND for the
purpose(s) of issuing emergency warnings and/or for reasonable testing of
such arrangements. Such a written notice forms one of the three
preconditions that must be satisfied in order for an exception to the
primary disclosure prohibition under sections 276 and 277 of the
Telecommunications Act 1997 respectively, to exist.

The amendments will also add a provision at subsection 285A(1A) of the Bill
to allow a written notice to cover disclosure of the protected information
being later used or disclosed for either or both of the permitted purposes
as set out in new sub-paragraphs 285A(1)(c)(i) and (ii). This new provision
will enable a series of disclosures to be made for a permitted purpose
under an arrangement between the discloser and the emergency management
person and enable the emergency management person to receive regular
updates of the IPND information.

The amendments will add a provision at subsection 285A(1B) of the Bill to
clarify that the written notice provided by the emergency management person
is not a legislative instrument within section 5 of the Legislative
Instruments Act 2003.

If a person is concerned that their personal information is being used by a
person for a purpose not permitted under the Telecommunications Act, s/he
may lodge a complaint with the Federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner.


   (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Broadband, Communications
       and the Digital Economy, Senator the Honourable Stephen Conroy)