ROUND 2: Australia’s privacy laws are changing. Now is the time to speak up.

There’s been an important development since I started this petition.

On 31 August 2026, the Australian Government released the exposure draft of the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026, the second tranche of proposed privacy reforms.

I am really interested in some of these proposed changes because they relate directly to the concerns behind this petition.

The Government is proposing a statutory test for consent. Consent would need to be voluntary, informed, current, specific and unambiguous. This is particularly relevant where one consent decision covers very different uses of a child's image.

The Government is also proposing a new “fair and reasonable” requirement for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The proposed test would consider factors including reasonable expectations, minimisation, genuine choice and proportionality of harm. Where a child is involved, the child's best interests would be a primary consideration.

This is important because the issue raised by this petition is about what happens when different uses of a child's image are bundled together, and when school consent policies can disadvantage children by requiring them to step out of activities or recordings because their parent has not consented to the public publication of their child's images.

The focus can become publication-centred rather than child-centred, without properly considering whether excluding the child is actually in their best interests or the impact such policies may have on the child’s well-being.

For example, a parent might be happy for their child to be photographed at school and for the photo to be shared through a private school platform, but not want the same photo published publicly on Facebook or Instagram. Those are very different uses. Parents should be able to make those choices separately.

Saying no to public publication should not mean a child is left out of ordinary school photos or made to participate differently from their classmates.

Privacy shouldn’t mean less participation or exclusion.

The proposed reforms are not law yet. The Government is currently seeking feedback, with submissions closing on 18 September 2026.

If you would like to have your say, the official consultation is here:

Privacy Reform – Consultation on Exposure Draft legislation

I've also put together a simple template at the bottom of this update for anyone who wants to make a submission but isn't sure where to start. If this issue matters to you, please consider making a submission. Sharing your own experience can help show why these proposed changes matter in practice. Feel free to use the template as a starting point and make it your own.

Thank you to everyone who has signed, shared and supported this petition. ❤️

Here’s to stronger privacy laws that give parents a real choice about how their children’s images are used, without excluding children from school activities, and ensure schools have privacy policies that genuinely put students’ best interests first.

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Template submission:

Subject: Privacy reform and children’s images in schools

Dear Attorney-General’s Department,

I am writing to provide feedback on the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026, particularly in relation to children’s images in schools.

I support the proposed requirements that consent be voluntary, informed, current, specific and unambiguous, and that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information be fair and reasonable.

I am particularly concerned about school policies that bundle different uses of a child’s image, such as internal school platforms (e.g. Compass, Seesaw) and public social media publication (e.g. Facebook, Instagram).

Parents should be able to make these choices separately, without being presented with an “all or nothing” choice. Declining public publication should not result in a child being excluded from ordinary school photographs, activities or recordings.

I support the proposed consideration of the best interests of the child and ask that the Government consider how these reforms can help ensure children are not disadvantaged when their parents choose to protect their privacy.

[Add your own experience here, if applicable.]

Kind regards,

[Name]