August

Justice Minister Judith Collins' plans to change trans-Tasman information sharing could mean a public register of serious criminals deported from Australia. The murder of Christchurch teenager Jade Bayliss has really focused everyone's minds on ensuring the new law becomes a reality. The change would allow Australian authorities to hand over border-control information to New Zealand police--including criminal convictions. At present, New Zealand police are told only that an offender is being deported from Australia, but they are not told of his|her criminal convictions. If they want that information, they have to request it through Interpol. Unless there is a serious threat to life, police cannot pass on an offender's history, even if a member of the public asks for it. Collins' plan would also have officials deciding whether the public should have access to criminal records by request or with an open register for serious offenders. Discussions about the potentially life-saving new legislation have already been held between officials in Australia and New Zealand and it will be presented to cabinet in the near future. However, Collins warned that it could take a long time to get through Parliament.

"The official ""in-force"" date for Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act has been set for July 2, 2014, and organizations shouldn't underestimate the time and effort needed to ensure compliance. The is the day when the Act will come into effect and when organizations will need to complete data inventory mapping, process audits, staff training, and publication of various processes. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) will be glad to note that several tools and trainings have been introduced by the PDPC (Personal Data Protection Commission) to aid the process, while larger organisations have slightly more than 13 months to finish their data compliance projects. Most projects should take around 9 months. Another point to note is that the more competent consultants in the industry will likely be snapped up so organizations should act quickly to secure such resources if they should require them. The government has also announced it would enhance information-sharing with other countries to prevent cross-border tax evasion, coming on the back of the ICIJ's ""wikileaks"" sized expose of the use of shell companies."

"Companies should start the process for Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) now so they will be ready for the new EU data protection regime, stated Eduardo Ustaran, Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP. ''BCRs should be the next big project for companies,"" said Ustaran. ""The real success of BCRs is that they can be tailored to the way a company operates. BCRs are not just for multinationals, smaller companies can also benefit.'' In particular, the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation - put forward by the Commission in 2012 - recommends companies of all sizes adopt BCRs as a means of legitimizing intra-group transfers out of Europe, and states that they should be binding not only within companies but also with respect to third parties. Amendments submitted in January 2013 by EU Parliamentary Rapporteur Jan-Philipp Albrecht could add further obligations including data minimisation, limited retention periods and privacy by design. On the international front, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is currently examining ways to harmonise its Cross Border Privacy Rules to that of BCRs. "