Jackson v The University of New South Wales

The case of Jackson v The University of New South Wales involved the plaintiff, Mr Jackson, who brought an action against the defendant, the University of New South Wales, for an alleged breach of privacy laws. The plaintiff claimed that the university had collected and used his personal information in a manner inconsistent with the purpose for which it was collected, and that such use amounted to a disclosure of the personal information. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia, presided over by Justice Bromberg.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the university had collected the plaintiff's personal information, whether it had used the information for the purpose it was collected, and whether the circumstances of the use amounted to a disclosure. The court had to interpret the relevant provisions of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and apply them to the facts of the case to determine whether the university had breached the privacy of the plaintiff.

The court found that the university had indeed collected the plaintiff's personal information and that it had used this information for a purpose other than the one for which it was collected. This use was inconsistent with the purpose of collection and amounted to a disclosure. Consequently, the court held that the university had breached section 17 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. However, the court affirmed the university's decision that there were no breaches of any Information Protection Principle set out in the Act. The matter was subsequently listed for a further case conference to be held on 6 March 2018.