LAWS70082 · Privacy Law
The Complete Exam Bible · S1 2026Privacy Law
Privacy Law is a Melbourne Law Masters intensive that maps the whole of Australian privacy law in one arc — what privacy is and why it is protected, the common-law position and breach of confidence, Australia’s new 2024 statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy (commenced 10 June 2025), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and its 13 Australian Privacy Principles, OAIC enforcement, and the live reform debate. There is no sit-down exam: 90% of the mark rides on a single open-resource piece you choose — either a take-home examination or a research paper — plus 10% class participation behind a 75% attendance hurdle. This guide teaches each doctrine to assessment standard: the test in its elements, the leading case, the exact section, and where the marks hide.
What LAWS70082 covers
Seven doctrine topics → one open-resource map. Each links to its free chapter guide.
How LAWS70082 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Class participation | 10% | Active seminar contribution across the intensive · behind a 75% attendance hurdle |
| Take-home examination (Option 1) | 90% | Open-resource · ~5,000 words equiv · problem + discursive question — OR the research paper, not both |
| Research paper (Option 2) | 90% | ~5,000 words · AGLC · topic approved by the coordinator — OR the take-home, not both |
The 2024 statutory tort — running a take-home problem, element by element
- +1Source & standing: the cause of action is Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Schedule 2, inserted by the 2024 Act, commenced 10 June 2025; it is open to a natural person and is actionable without proof of damage.
- +1Element 1 — invasion: a hidden camera in the home is an intrusion upon seclusion (watching/recording), and the livestream is also a misuse of information — both limbs are engaged.
- +1Element 2 — reasonable expectation: in one’s own home, at a private dinner, the expectation of privacy is high on the factors (the place, the means, the nature of the information).
- +1Elements 3 & 4 — fault and seriousness: planting a camera is intentional (recklessness suffices; negligence does not), and covert filming of family life inside the home is serious for a person of ordinary sensibilities.
- +1Element 5 — public-interest balance: the plaintiff must show the privacy interest is not outweighed by a countervailing public interest; mere public curiosity about a private relationship is unlikely to tip it.
- +1The defence: the journalist will run the journalism exemption (and free-expression public interest); decide whether genuine public-interest journalism is engaged or whether this is exposure for its own sake.
Key terms
- Statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy
- Australia’s first general statutory cause of action for invasion of privacy — Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Schedule 2, inserted by the 2024 Act, commenced 10 June 2025. A court action for natural persons, actionable without proof of damage, turning on five cumulative elements with a public-interest balance built in.
- Breach of confidence
- The equitable action that carried privacy’s load before 2024: information of a confidential quality, imparted (or obtained) in circumstances importing an obligation, used without authorisation (per Coco v A N Clark). After Giller v Procopets, equitable compensation can include damages for distress.
- APP entity
- The actor the Privacy Act binds — a Commonwealth agency or a private-sector organisation (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) s 6C). A small-business operator (turnover ≤ A$3m, s 6D) and certain employee-records and journalism acts (s 7B) are generally exempt.
- Personal information
- Information or an opinion about an identified, or reasonably identifiable, individual (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) s 6). It must be “about” the individual (Privacy Commissioner v Telstra). Sensitive information, including health information, attracts heightened protection.
- Interference with privacy
- The Act’s gateway to enforcement: an act or practice that breaches an APP is an “interference with the privacy” of an individual (s 13). Serious or repeated interferences (s 13G) expose an entity to civil penalties in the Federal Court.
LAWS70082 FAQ
Is LAWS70082 hard?
It is doctrine-dense rather than tricky: the challenge is holding a sprawling patchwork — theory, the common law, a brand-new statutory tort, the Privacy Act, 13 APPs, OAIC enforcement and live reform — in one head and deploying the right test, case and section under assessment conditions. Because both 90% pieces are open-resource, the reward shifts from recall to applied analysis, structure and authority.
How is LAWS70082 assessed?
There is no sit-down exam. The mark is 10% class participation (behind a 75% attendance hurdle) plus a 90% piece you choose — either an open-resource take-home examination or a ~5,000-word research paper (AGLC, topic approved). The two 90% paths are mutually exclusive; a written declaration about AI use is required either way. Confirm your own 2026 Canvas codes, weights and dates before relying on them.
What is the new 2024 statutory tort, and why does it matter?
It is Australia’s first general statutory cause of action for serious invasion of privacy — Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Schedule 2, inserted by the 2024 Act and commenced 10 June 2025. It fills the gap ABC v Lenah Game Meats left open, turns on five cumulative elements with a public-interest balance, and is the subject’s headline currency item — expect it in both the take-home and research-paper streams.
Do I need to memorise section numbers and cases?
For an open-resource assessment you do not memorise so much as navigate fast: know where each APP, test, leading case and section sits so you can pinpoint-cite it (APP 6.2, s 13G, Coco, Telstra) and mark every provision Cth or Vic. Wrong section numbers or the wrong jurisdiction are fatal; a tab-indexed kit beats rote memory.
Is using AskSia for LAWS70082 cheating?
No. AskSia is a study reference written in our own words — cases and statutes are non-copyrightable legal fact stated plainly, and we host none of your lecturer’s files. Sia teaches you the method to earn the marks; it does not write or sit your assessment. This is a study companion, not legal advice.
How to study for the exam
Treat the subject as a tab-indexed open-resource kit, because both 90% pieces reward navigation, not memory. Drill the spine until you can move down it on the first pass: concept → breach of confidence → the 2024 statutory tort → the Privacy Act + the 13 APPs → OAIC/NDB enforcement → reform. For a take-home problem, clear the two gates (is there personal/sensitive information? is the actor an APP entity, or exempt?) before you march the APPs in order, then characterise breaches as an interference (s 13), flag s 13G and the NDB scheme, and run the statutory tort and breach of confidence in parallel — citing a real section or case for every proposition. For a research paper, pick a narrow, contestable thesis in reform-and-comparative territory (does the 2024 tort’s public-interest balance protect free speech? GDPR rights vs the principles-based APPs?), map the law briefly and accurately, then argue — in strict AGLC. Either way, foreground the live 2024–25 currency and never overstate what is enacted versus merely proposed.
