Western Australia has introduced what is widely regarded as the most advanced privacy legislation in Australia regulating the handling of personal information across the public sector and, in some circumstances, extending to contracted service providers operating in and outside of Australia.

The Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (WA) (PRIS Act)(1) establishes a comprehensive framework governing the collection, use, disclosure and management of personal information, while also regulating certain aspects of de-identified information and automated decision-making.

The legislation represents a significant shift in the privacy landscape in Western Australia. It introduces modern privacy principles, embeds stronger governance expectations for public sector agencies and creates new regulatory powers for the Office of the Information Commissioner WA.(2)