Want To Be Anonymous? Now You Have A Right To Be
The Age › Ben Grubb
Australian citizens now have the right to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym when interacting with government agencies, private health service providers, and large organisations under new privacy laws.
The Australian Privacy Foundation says the laws, which came into effect on March 12, are a huge win for those who don’t wish to use their real identity when interacting with organisations and companies that have a turnover of more than $3 million a year.
The law states individuals "must have the option of dealing anonymously or by pseudonym".
There are a number of caveats though. For example, an entity is not required to provide anonymity or pseudonymity where they are required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals and where it is "impracticable" for them to deal with non-identified individuals.