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ACL ruling marks turning point in Australia's privacy-law enforcement, regulator says

( October 9, 2025, 00:26 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: A court ruling ordering Australian Clinical Labs to pay A$5.8 million ($3.8 million) over a 2022 data breach that compromised the data of 223,000 individuals marks a turning point in the enforcement of Australia’s privacy laws, a regulator has said. In a statement on Thursday, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said that these are the first civil penalties ordered under the 1988 Privacy Act. In a Federal Court of Australia hearing on Wednesday, Judge John Halley ruled that ACL’s contraventions were a result of its failure to act with “sufficient care and diligence” in managing the risk of a cyberattack on its systems. In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchanges, ACL said that it will pay civil penalties of A$5.8 million and make a contribution of A$400,000 towards the privacy watchdog’s legal costs. The payment is due by Nov. 7.The full statement by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner follows; the statement by the Australian Clinical Labs is attached; the full judgment is attached:...

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