Australian Data Protection and Privacy Law G (12302.1)

Understand the data protection and information privacy laws that shape how government and organisations operate.
Every day, data flows through government systems, digital platforms, and organisations. This unit will build your understanding of the laws that should protect it. It explores the privacy laws that govern what your agency can and can't do with that information, and why those rules matter. You'll examine actual legislation, seminal court precedents, and regulatory guidance documents to understand why privacy laws work the way they do. You'll grapple with genuinely challenging questions: Why is data protection more than privacy? How do courts decide what "privacy" even means under the Australian Constitution? What happens when government agencies use data analytics to profile people? What responsibilities do organisations have when AI makes decisions about people? What do you need to know about the Data Commissioner?
The Privacy Act reforms also strengthened enforcement. You'll understand the new civil penalties, what triggers investigations, and how the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner holds agencies accountable. You'll also explore emerging challenges, including managing risks when using AI for decisions and navigating cross-agency data sharing. You'll look beyond our borders. Australia's privacy laws are evolving in response to international approaches, such as Europe's groundbreaking GDPR. Understanding these global patterns will show you where Australian law is heading and why.
Understanding these issues now positions you to lead your workplace's privacy practices. By the end of this unit, you'll have practical expertise in applying privacy law that directly applies to your role. You'll know how to identify privacy risks, support your agency's compliance, and contribute confidently to privacy decisions - whether you're working in policy, data management, or service delivery. You will develop genuine expertise in a field where demand for skilled professionals continues to grow.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Critically analyse privacy law and other legislation to evaluate implications for data governance and compliance frameworks;
2. Develop professional communication skills to interpret and translate legal requirements in non-legal contexts;
3. Design legally compliant privacy impact assessments and governance strategies that address complex regulatory requirements, cross-jurisdictional data sharing, and emerging technology challenges such as sovereign AI; and
4. Evaluate legislation, regulatory approaches and ethical considerations to formulate recommendations for improving data governance and accountability mechanisms.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.