Question

The owner of an aged care facility released the photos and videos of a resident who had dementia without prior consent. The resident's family filed a petition in court against the organisation asking for compensation. What type of penalties should a Nurse expect if found to be in breach of the privacy act 1988 (in 30-40 words). wa

Answer 1

Although the reported individual compensation awards have not been significant to date, ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for non-economic loss for each privacy breach, the overall compensation that may be payable by an organisation could be in the hundreds of millions, particularly where the breach involves the data of a large number of individuals. The Privacy Commissioner can also award compensation for economic loss.In addition to awarding compensation for non-economic loss for reputational damage, stress, injury to feelings and humiliation caused by the privacy breach, the Privacy Commissioner’s determinations have included the following remedies:

1. An apology.
2. A requirement that the organisation adopts and implements particular remedial measures in response to privacy breaches.
3. A requirement that the organisation reviews its privacy/information handling policies and procedures and conduct staff training and make necessary changes to ensure information is accurate, complete and up-to-date.
4. A requirement that the organisation undertake an independent audit of its policies and operation processes.
5. A requirement that the organisation reviews new remedial measures adopted and reports the findings of that review to the OAIC.
6. Reimbursement of reasonably incurred costs and expenses.