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https://www.technologydecisions.com.au/content/it-management/article/the-hidden-legal-risk-in-your-ai-workflow-1108896066>
"On 10 June 2025, Australia introduced a new statutory tort for serious
invasion of privacy that enhances an individual’s rights if their privacy is
intentionally or recklessly breached, even if no harm has occurred. It’s a
landmark shift; but for organisations undergoing digital transformation, it’s
also a legal trap hidden inside their own tech stack.
Here’s the simple version: if your organisation collects personal data and
something goes wrong, even unintentionally, you could now be held accountable
if that data use is considered a ‘serious’ invasion of privacy. And in
practice, the term ‘serious’ is not precisely defined, leaving its
interpretation to the courts. According to one law firm, factors that may
influence this determination include the degree of offence, distress or harm
caused, and whether the defendant knew or ought to have known that their
actions would likely cause such effects.
But the danger isn’t just legal; it’s also structural. The way most
organisations have built digital processes over the past decade has created
what I’d call a ‘governance gap’. Personal data flows invisibly between SaaS
platforms, automation tools, and now AI models, often without clear oversight
or auditability. No one’s malicious, but no one’s entirely sure who’s
responsible, either.
Nowhere is this risk more acute than in the rise of autonomous AI agents."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
