New AI Transparency Requirements Coming into Effect in December
From 10 December 2026, Australian Privacy Principle (APP) entities will be required to include information in their privacy policies where they have arranged for a computer program to make, or substantially and directly contribute to, decisions that significantly affect an individual’s rights or interests and personal information is used in that process.
Introduced through the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, the changes to APP 1 require affected organisations to provide greater transparency about how automated systems are being used. Privacy policies will need to identify the kinds of personal information used by these programs, the kinds of decisions made solely by them, and the kinds of decisions where a program performs an action substantially and directly related to making the decision.
The requirements are particularly relevant as organisations increase their use of AI, algorithms and automated systems across business processes involving personal information. For records and information management professionals, this intersects with information governance, privacy, data management and the documentation of automated business processes.
To support organisations ahead of the December commencement date, the OAIC has released a Transparency Obligation Fact Sheet, a supplementary fact sheet specifically for government agencies and a Transparency Obligation Flowchart. The OAIC has also updated its APP 1 Guidelines.
The resources follow a consultation process that received 90 written submissions from government, industry, academia, civil society, industry bodies and other stakeholders.
With the new requirements taking effect on 10 December 2026, organisations using automated decision-making involving personal information have just over two months to review whether the requirements apply to them and ensure relevant privacy policies are updated.
Source: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, New resources on transparency for use of AI and automated decision-making, published 30 September 2026.