The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law that came into effect on May 25, 2018. It was introduced by the European Union (EU) to enhance the privacy rights of individuals and to create a unified framework for data protection across Europe. GDPR applies to any organisation that processes the personal data of individuals within the EU, regardless of where the organisation itself is located. This means that even Australian businesses that handle data belonging to EU residents must comply with GDPR requirements.

Key Principles of GDPR

The GDPR is built on several core principles designed to protect personal data and ensure its lawful processing. These principles include:

1. Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Personal data must be processed legally, fairly, and in a transparent manner. Organisations must inform individuals about how their data will be used and obtain their explicit consent where necessary.
2. Purpose Limitation: Data must be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.
3. Data Minimisation: Only the data necessary for the intended purpose should be collected. Organisations should not store or process excessive amounts of data.
4. Accuracy: Personal data must be accurate and kept up to date. Inaccurate data should be corrected or deleted without delay.
5. Storage Limitation: Data should only be kept for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. Once the data is no longer needed, it should be securely deleted or anonymised.
6. Integrity and Confidentiality: Organisations must ensure the security of personal data by protecting it against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
7. Accountability: Organisations are responsible for complying with GDPR and must be able to demonstrate their compliance.

Rights of Individuals Under GDPR

GDPR grants several rights to individuals, empowering them to have greater control over their personal data. These rights include:

• Right to Access: Individuals can request access to their personal data held by an organisation and obtain information about how it is being processed.
• Right to Rectification: Individuals can request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): Individuals can request the deletion of their personal data when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or if they withdraw their consent.
• Right to Restrict Processing: Individuals can request that the processing of their data be restricted in certain circumstances, such as when the accuracy of the data is contested.
• Right to Data Portability: Individuals can request a copy of their personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and have the right to transmit this data to another organisation.
• Right to Object: Individuals can object to the processing of their personal data for direct marketing purposes or on grounds relating to their particular situation.
• Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making and Profiling: Individuals have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produce legal effects or significantly affect them.

Impact of GDPR on Businesses

GDPR has far-reaching implications for businesses worldwide. Non-compliance with GDPR can result in significant penalties, including fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of the annual global turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. Therefore, it is crucial for organisations to understand and comply with GDPR requirements to avoid potential legal and financial repercussions.

For businesses, complying with GDPR means implementing robust data protection policies, conducting regular audits to ensure compliance, training employees on data protection practices, and appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if necessary. It also involves maintaining comprehensive records of data processing activities and ensuring that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to safeguard personal data.