The Office of the National Data Commissioner (NDC) and the National Data Advisory Council administer the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 (Cth) (the DAT Act). The DAT Act commenced on 1 April 2022, and will cease to have effect on 1 April 2027 (unless extended) [s 143].

The DAT Act provides for the controlled sharing of public sector statistical data with accredited users. Applications for accreditation commenced on 1 June 2022.

Data can only be shared pursuant to the DAT Act for the following purposes [s 15(1)]:

Information cannot be shared for a precluded purpose, including an enforcement related purpose [s 15(2)-(4)]. There are also restrictions on the entities who can share data, with some government entities specifically excluded. This includes the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Office of National Intelligence [s 11(3)].

The relevant entities must enter into a Data Sharing Agreement [s 19] which must be registered with the NDC before data sharing can commence [s 18(4)]. The register of Data Sharing Agreements is maintained by the NDC, and some information must be made available to the public, including the description of data to be shared and whether any personal information is to be shared [s 130(2)].

Data Sharing Agreements must comply with the privacy protections [Part 2.4], which include:

There are civil and criminal penalties for unauthorised data collection, use and/or sharing [ss 14A, 14].

Complaints about data sharing or sharing entities can be made to the NDC by participants [s 88] and affected persons or entities[s 94]. The NDC has a broad range of investigative and regulatory powers to address complaints.

The National Data Advisory Council holds an advisory role to the NDC relating to the use of public sector data.

Pursuant to the Data Availability and Transparency (Consequential Amendments) Transitional Rules 2022 which commenced on 29 September 2022, the transitional entities include the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the Commonwealth Social Services Department*, and the Victorian Department of Health*.

* These entities have conditions on their accreditation.

For more information, visit the National Data Commissioner website. See also the Data Availability and Transparency Code 2022 (Cth).