Elizabeth Coombs

The government has named Samantha Gavel as the new NSW Privacy Commissioner, to take over from Elizabeth Coombs.

CASE STUDY: The Opal card won over the public faster and without the opprobrium that greeted similar transport technology rollouts. NSW’s ticketing boss explains how he made sure the wheels didn’t fall off.

Close a loophole that allows government to violate privacy, a parliamentary committee says. It also wants to expand powers of the state’s privacy commissioner into disputes between individuals.

Competitive tendering in human services has a host of problems, a parliamentary committee has found, but a six-month inquiry couldn’t find an alternative so it’s back to the drawing board.

Researchers found NSW agencies have an “over-determined” view of privacy, limiting service coordination. But privacy commissioner Dr Elizabeth Coombs says misunderstanding about the privacy regime, not the laws themselves, is the cause of missed opportunities for service improvement.

More funding is needed for the NSW Privacy Commissioner to help public servants improve privacy practices and tackle the growing public concern about data use by government. Some agencies still don’t understand how privacy relates to good customer service and accountability.