On 18 May 2026, the OAIC released an Issues Paper seeking views on guidance for the new Automated Decision-Making (ADM) transparency obligation under APP 1.7–1.9 of the Privacy Act. The obligation requires entities to disclose in their privacy policy when a computer program is used to make, or substantially assist, a decision using personal information that could reasonably be expected to significantly affect an individual’s rights or interests.
For digital advertising, the Issues Paper raises questions including: how broadly the ‘significantly affects rights or interests’ threshold should be interpreted, and whether it should capture routine ad delivery such as algorithmic ranking, personalisation and differential pricing; whether ‘interests’ should draw on administrative law concepts developed for government decision-making; which entity in a supply chain should be treated as having ‘arranged for’ an ADM process; and how much detail privacy policies must disclose about the personal information used and decisions made.
Members can access our submission below, which supports meaningful transparency over automated decisions that genuinely affect an individual’s rights and interests. However, we are concerned the ADM Obligation, if interpreted too broadly, could capture routine advertising activity — such as ad ranking, personalisation and pricing that involves no discrete decision about an individual. We urge the OAIC to keep the threshold targeted and objective, so disclosures remain meaningful rather than so broad and frequent that they lose value.
IAB Australia members can download the submission below:
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