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The Tax Practitioners Board is urging practitioners and the community to remain on top of privacy and protection of personal information.
TPB calls for reinforced information protections amid privacy week
18 June 2025
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8 minute read
The Tax Practitioners Board is encouraging practitioners to be vigilant, aware and proactive this Privacy Week to raise awareness of privacy issues and protection.
In a recent webinar, the TPB emphasised the increasing importance of protecting private information and that it was obligatory for practitioners under Code item six, confidentiality of client information.
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“First and foremost, don’t leave privacy to chance and remember your obligations under Code item six – confidentiality of client information,” the TPB said.
“Unless there is a legal duty to do so, tax practitioners must not disclose any information relating to a client’s affairs to a third party without the client’s permission.”
It was also suggested that practitioners familiarise themselves with privacy principles, only collect necessary personal information, ensure personal information is kept secure, familiarise themselves with a data breach response plan and reduce cyber threats where possible.
In the webinar, personal information to be protected at all costs included names, date of birth, medical records, bank details, address and phone number, employment details and any photos or videos.
BDO echoed the same sentiment around privacy, noting that it was also important to understand Australia’s regulatory environment as it was rapidly evolving to strengthen the rights of individuals and improve organisational accountability.
“We are living in a data-driven era where organisations are rapidly adopting technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data sharing platforms to unlock insights, improve performance, and gain competitive advantage,” BDO said.
“As the demand for data intensifies, so too do the risks. Without proper safeguards – such as informed consent, transparency, and the ability to correct or delete data – our personal information becomes vulnerable to harms like data breaches, algorithmic bias and targeted cyberattacks.”
“Reflecting on what it truly means to have control over your personal life is essential to ensuring your data is used responsibly and remains protected in an increasingly digital world.”
According to BDO, despite growing regulatory pressure, many organisations still struggled with a barrier to privacy compliance, which was data visibility.
Data visibility was noted to be an organisation’s ability to identify, access, track and view its data throughout the information cycle, from initial collection through to disposal and destruction.
“The issue is that personal and sensitive data is often dispersed across multiple systems, including cloud platforms, legacy file shares, archive folders, emails, and third-party apps, usually with limited classification, tagging or retention logic applied,” BDO said.
“Without the ability to discover, classify and manage information effectively, organisations are left vulnerable to non-compliance and reputational damage. As the volume and complexity of data increases, manual controls are no longer enough. Automation and intelligent data governance tools are essential to meet both compliance and operational demands.”
The TPB and BDO said the theme of Privacy Week 2025 was “privacy is everyone’s business”, and with the right tools and mindset, privacy was also everyone’s responsibility.
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