The Commonwealth Government has published an issues paper, A Commonwealth Statutory Cause of Action for Serious Invasion of Privacy,for comment by 4 November 2011.

The paper discusses whether Australia should introduce a statutory cause of action for privacy and, if so, what elements a statutory cause of action might include. It draws on the analysis of the Australian, Victorian and New South Wales Law Reform Commissions, and considers the policy context and current legal positions in Australia and comparable jurisdictions.

There is currently no statutory action for invasion of privacy in any Australian jurisdiction, and only 2 court decisions have expressly recognised a common law right to an action for invasion of privacy.

There is no specific discussion of the role of the media.