In the post Christmas pre new Years media quiet the damning report by Price Waterhouse Coopers highlights operational defects of the PSR.  The Australian ran the story today under the title Bungling medical watchdog on critical list.

The story provides:

THE powerful commonwealth agency tasked with investigating medical rorts needs to be completely rebuilt, having bungled at least 71 cases, breached patient privacy and failed to comply with various financial and legislative controls.

The recommendation is in a government-commissioned review that has found problems so entrenched it calls for the independent statutory authority to be partly subsumed by the Health Department and put on a new financial footing.

That could mean doctors or their professional bodies for the first time being asked to pay a levy to fund the Professional Services Review potentially bringing the new Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, into conflict with the doctors lobby.

The PSR was established in 1994 to help ensure patient safety and doctors’ proper use of funds Read the rest of this entry »

Every year I give a nod to a non legal subject and repeat one of the most moving ode’s to Santa I have read.

Courtesy of Beebo I have extracted one of the most famous editorials I have read about the Christmas spirit.  It is a fine piece of writing as well.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. [See The People’s Almanac, pp. 1358–9.]

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Clearing House has set out its list of top/worst data breaches for 2011.  It is an American list so the Telstra breach of privacy is not included.

It’s report is:

The following half dozen are our top picks for the most significant data breaches in 2011:

1. Sony PlayStation (April 27) – Sony discovered an external intrusion Read the rest of this entry »

It is hard to keep up with the mass of testimonials, obituaries and reminiscences of the idiosyncratic, opinionated and outstandingly gifted writer.

An enquiring mind is Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Commissioner commenced an own motion investigation report on the Professional Services Review Agency and allegations that there was storage of information from two separate and distinct bodies on the same database.  It found there was a breach of the Act.  The report is found here.

FACTS

The privacy Commissioner received a complaint that the Professional Services Review Agency (“PSR”) was holding medicare benefits program material and pharmaceutical benefits program data on the same database.  This would potentially be a breach of the guidelines issued under section 135AA of the National Health Act 1953.  There was also the question of whether there was a breach of IPP 4.

DECISION

The Commissioner found there was no breach of IPP 4.  The PSR satisfied the Commissioner that it had in place satisfactory measures to safeguard data including:

• retains records in accordance with the National Archives of Australia guidelines, Normal Administrative Practice and existing Records Authorities;
• destroys records in accordance with the timeframes set by the National Archives of Australia Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s Australian there is a claim of breach of privacy by a constituent arising out of the alleged hacking into an ALP database by Age correspondents.

The article says:

A VICTIM of The Age’s hacking of an ALP database has come forward claiming the newspaper breached her privacy, as The Weekend Australian reveals the Victorian Electoral Commission asked police to investigate the claims of illegal activity.

Claire Watson, 24, has expressed her concerns Read the rest of this entry »

In yesterday’s Legal Affairs section of the Australian Chris Merritt has raised alarm, here, about the new Attorney General’s predilication for activism and the statutory right of privacy.

He says:

ONE of the most overlooked elements of this week’s Gillard cabinet reshuffle looks set to put Nicola Roxon back in her comfort zone: leading a crusade.

Before the reshuffle, responsibility for the government’s proposed privacy tort rested with Brendan O’Connor, who was outside cabinet when he was Justice Minister. Jason Clare now holds that position, but he is not responsible for privacy.

That went to Roxon when she replaced Robert McClelland as Attorney-General. And that brought this policy area to cabinet. This suggests that Julia Gillard believes privacy is about to take on greater political significance.

In politics it is always very dangerous to read tea leaves as Chris does here.  There is even less profit in trying to discern the reasons for changes in administrative arrangements.  Privacy has found itself in many different portfolios Read the rest of this entry »

The Privay Commissioner has posted his presentation to the iappANZ summit on 30 November 2011. It is found here.

The speech,as it relates to privacy, provides:

Firstly, I will read you a quote about community perceptions of privacy.  As I am reading it, I would like you to see if you can work out when you think this quote was written.

“Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step which must be taken for the protection of the person….photographs and newspaper enterprises have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life, and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the house tops.”

Given recent media reporting of the impact of new technologies on people’s privacy, and incidents like the News of the World phone hacking scandal, you could be forgiven for thinking that this quote is contemporary.

You may be surprised Read the rest of this entry »

In recent decisions of Sportsco Pty Ltd v Singh Group Pty Ltd (No 2) [2011] VSC 576 (per Ferguson J) and BKW Investments Pty Ltd v Training Connect Limited [2011] FCA 1314 (per Cowdroy J) the courts considered applications to set aside statutory demands. In Sportsco the court, hearing an appeal from an Associate Justice, refused to set aside the application.  In BKW the court set aside the application.

Sportsco Pty Ltd v Singh Group Pty Ltd (No 2)

Facts

The underlying dispute related to the purchase of a franchise business.  Singh, the purchaser, submitted that the statutory demand on Sportsco for $70,500 was a refundable deposit under the franchise agreement. Sportsco, the vendor, applied to set aside the demand claiming there was a genuine dispute concerning the debt and that it had an offsetting claim.  Singh alleged there was an agreement that the money was refundable if it was unable to obtain finance for the franchise business.  Singh did not obtain finance.  While Singh was provided with an  an offer to lease premises from which the franchise would operate it was never executed by Singh.  Sportsco claimed there was a dispute as to what constituted the agreement and whether the agreement was subject to finance. It also claimed Singh was liable to pay a franchise royalty fee of five years as a consequence of the breach and was liable for damages of approximately $300,000.

Decision

Ferguson J referred to TR administration proprietor Ltd V Frank marketing and Sales Brochure Ltd as support forthe proposition that Read the rest of this entry »

In‘D’ and Wentworthville Leagues Club the Privacy Commissioner made a determination that there was a breach of the complainant’s privacy under section 52 of the Privacy Act 1988 (the “Act”).

FACTS

In October 2008, the complainant lodged a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner against the Club under s 36 of the Act alleging that:

• having been a member of the Club since 1997, on 28 September 2007, the Club disclosed the complainant’s full membership details, and player activity statements about their use of the Club’s gaming machines, for the periods July–August 2002 and January–June 2003. This information was provided to the complainant’s ex-partner
• the complainant learned of the disclosure in late July 2008
• the Club gave the personal information to the complainant’s ex-partner in breach of the Act.

The complainant sought, [4], a declaration in the sum of $19,483.90 in compensation for Read the rest of this entry »