30th APPA Forum — Communiqué
The 30th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) Forum was held in Melbourne, Australia from 13–14 November 2008. This Communiqué outlines the initiatives discussed at this Forum.
Back row — from left: Melanie Casley, Department of Justice Victoria; Mark Hummerston, Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Australia; Sue Coleman, Department of Justice, Victoria; Elise Bates, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, Australia; Ann-Marie Fishburn, Department of Premier and Cabinet, South Australia; Alethea Sim, Korean Information Security Agency; Phillipa O’Dowd, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, New South Wales; Anthony Bendall, Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Victoria; Blair Stewart, Assistant Privacy Commissioner, New Zealand; Kaye McKemmish, Department of Justice and Attorney General, Queensland; Nicole Waterson, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Queensland; Rachael Taylor, Department of Justice and Community Safety, Australian Capital Territory; Colin Minihan, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia; David Snell, Department of Justice and Safety, Australian Capital Territory; Shirley Lung, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong.
Front row — from left: Siobhan Jenner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, New South Wales; Barbara Pedersen, Office of the Information Commissioner, Northern Territory; Helen Versey, Privacy Commissioner, Victoria; Roderick Woo, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong; Marie Shroff, Privacy Commissioner, New Zealand; Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, Australia
The 30th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) Forum was held in Melbourne, Australia, from 13–14 November 2008. APPA has the principal objectives of:
- Facilitating the sharing of knowledge and resources between privacy authorities within the Asia-Pacific;
- Fostering cooperation in privacy and data protection;
- Promoting best practice amongst privacy authorities; and
- Working to continuously improve our performance to achieve the important objectives set out in our respective privacy laws.
The first day of the Forum was a broader session. In attendance were Privacy Commissioners or representatives from Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Victoria. Representatives from Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and Australian government departments with responsibility for privacy also participated in the meeting.
During the broader session, jurisdictional reports were presented and international and national privacy issues and developments were discussed.
The Resolutions from the 30th International Data Protection Conference held in Strasbourg, October 2008, were reviewed. APPA welcomed the International Conference endorsement for the establishment of a working group to initiate a worldwide privacy and data protection awareness week/day. This idea was suggested at the 29th APPA meeting, 20 June 2008, in Seoul.
The results and analysis of a recent survey on the use of Portable Storage Devices and related risks was provided and updates were given on developments in data breach notification and privacy law reform in several jurisdictions. Issues concerned with locational privacy and ‘blacklists’ were also discussed in detail.
The second day of the Forum was a closed session for APPA members and the jurisdiction reports were discussed in greater depth and detail. Members exchanged expertise and experiences in regard to issues raised in the reports. The impact of the APEC Privacy Framework was also discussed.
A review of the objectives for the APPA Forum was undertaken and opportunities for further joint initiatives across jurisdictions were highlighted, particularly in relation to Privacy Awareness Week, 3-9 May 2009. The Australian Office agreed to continue to act as the APPA secretariat for an additional two years.
The 31st APPA meeting will be held in Hong Kong in June 2009.