Australia's AI Transparency Countdown Has Begun
87% of Australians say they're more worried about their privacy than they were five years ago. Only 4% trust AI companies. And from 10 December 2026, the OAIC's new transparency rules mean businesses using AI to make decisions about people will have nowhere to hide.
Automated Decision Making (ADM) Transparency Issues Paper
The OAIC published an Issues Paper on 18 May 2026, which started consultations on a new transparency obligation under Australian Privacy Principle (APP) 1.7, which takes effect 10 December 2026 and applies to every APP entity using automated tools to make decisions about people.
From that date, privacy policies must spell out what personal information feeds the system, which decisions are made solely by the program, and which decisions the program materially shapes.
That covers rule-based logic, machine learning, and, as the OAIC has now confirmed, generative AI. If a computer program touches a decision about someone's rights or interests, it's in scope.
Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey
This report's findings, published 28 May 2026, are stark: 87% of Australians are more concerned about privacy than they were five years ago. Complaints to the regulator are up 73% this financial year.
Notably, according to the May Issues Paper, 89% of Australians believe they have a right to know when AI is deciding things about them.
Associated Information on AI and Privacy
Trust hasn't caught up with the technology, only 4% of Australians believe AI companies are worthy of it.
Enforcement is already moving: the OAIC closed its investigation into fastproperty.ai in May with no breach found.
But on 24 June 2026, it found Medmate Australia and Monash IVF had interfered with privacy by using third-party tracking pixels to collect sensitive information.
AI and ADM are a stated OAIC enforcement priority for 2025–26. That includes how government itself uses these tools.
Ongoing Actions
The OAIC's first-ever compliance sweep is underway, checking approximately 60 real estate, pharmacy, and car dealership businesses. It's checking whether their privacy policies are clear and current.
Meanwhile, a Children's Online Privacy Code is now out for consultation.
So what does this all mean for you? If your privacy policy doesn't yet explain how, or whether, AI is making decisions about your customers, the clock is now running.
The countdown to 10 December 2026 is not merely a compliance deadline, it is a call to rethink how we manage automated systems. AI is a powerful accelerator. If you don’t embed transparency into your workflow, you are only shifting the risk, not mitigating it.
Asking these questions can assist with testing your readiness:
Is our AI transparency statement a living document? Does it accurately reflect how AI is shaping decisions within our programs?
Do we have ‘human-in-the-loop’ override points? Are these controls embedded into our workflows?
Is our audit trail robust enough for an ANAO review today? If our AI-assisted decisions were audited tomorrow, could we determine the data, the criteria applied, and the human judgment exercised at the point of decision?
If you are concerned about your readiness, you are not alone. Reach out to us at Synlaw to talk through your needs