The Privacy Act changes commence in March 2014. 

If your credit application, privacy policy or terms and conditions of trade do not property take the new amendments into account, you may find yourself in danger of breaching the new Act. The changes have imposed new credit reporting provisions, and have given enforcement powers to the privacy Commissioner. 

The new principles are called the Australian Privacy Principles, and are intended to be harmonised across government and business.  They replace the existing Information Privacy Principles that apply to government, as well as the National Privacy Principles that currently apply to business.