In May 2018, the Australian Government announced that it would legislate a Consumer Data Right to allow consumers to harness the power of their data and provide consumers with greater control over their data. 

Our key takeaways:

• The Consumer Data Right will confer a right on consumers (both individuals and business customers) to access particular data and have that data transferred to either themselves or to a third party. 
• The impact to private sector organisations is likely to be significant as both competition and regulatory compliance costs increase. 
• Despite a planned economy-wide roll out being announced, it is likely we will only see consumers provided with access to their banking, energy, phone and internet data in the short to medium-term. Although, the reciprocity principles may see other data sets from other industries shared earlier in some instances.
• Lawyers, particularly those in the energy and telecommunications sectors, should consider advising their private sector clients, to engage with the Treasurer's consultation process for the draft legislation implementing the Consumer Data Right. 

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This article first appeared in the LexisNexis Privacy Law Bulletin - Volume 15 (6).

Date of publication: 10 August 2018

Disclaimer: Since the date of publication of this article, the Government has released the exposure draft of the Consumer Data Right enabling legislation and other ancillary information. Please contact us if you would like the latest information.