On 10 June 2025, Australian law changed in a way that most Australians — and many lawyers — do not yet know about. The statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy, introduced by Schedule 2 of the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) and now forming part of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), gives every natural person in Australia the right to sue — directly, in court — where another person or organisation has intentionally or recklessly invaded their privacy in a serious way. No complaint to a regulator. No waiting for a government investigation. A direct cause of action, with real remedies including injunctions and damages up to $478,550.

The tort is broader than the Privacy Act itself. It applies to any person, organisation, or entity — not just those subject to the Australian Privacy Principles. It extends to individuals, small businesses, employers, landlords, neighbours, former partners, and colleagues. And critically, unlike defamation, truth is not a defence. The wrong is the invasion of privacy itself — not whether the information shared or accessed was accurate.

Your privacy is not just a value — it is an enforceable legal right. And unlike defamation, what was shared does not need to be false for legal action to be available.

EAGLEGATE advises both plaintiffs — individuals, families, and businesses whose privacy has been invaded — and defendants facing claims under the new tort.

The Two Pathways — Intrusion Upon Seclusion and Misuse of Information

The tort under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) covers two distinct forms of invasion.

Intrusion Upon Seclusion

Intrusion upon seclusion occurs where a defendant physically or digitally penetrates the plaintiff’s zone of privacy — without needing to disclose anything. This includes: GPS tracking or AirTag placement without consent; installation of spyware on a device; covert surveillance of private spaces; accessing email, social media, banking, or cloud accounts without authorisation; physical intrusion into private spaces; and using smart home devices, security cameras, or vehicle tracking systems to monitor another person without their knowledge.

Misuse of Personal Information

Misuse of personal information occurs where a defendant collects, uses, or discloses private information in circumstances where the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy. This includes: non-consensual sharing of intimate images (sometimes called “revenge porn”); disclosing medical, health, or psychiatric information; sharing financial details, debt circumstances, or legal history; doxxing — publishing a person’s home address, workplace, or other identifying information; and circulating private correspondence, messages, or recordings. Notably, the information does not need to be true — unlike defamation, truth is not a defence under this tort.

Business Divorce and Partnership Breakdown

Commercial relationship breakdowns — business divorces, partnership disputes, shareholder conflicts — generate privacy-related conduct that the new tort now addresses. A departing business partner who accesses the personal email accounts of co-founders, a director who shares a shareholder’s private financial or health information to pressure a buyout, or an employee who discloses confidential personal details about a colleague during an acrimonious exit — each may now face a serious invasion of privacy claim. EAGLEGATE’s integrated capability across shareholder disputes, commercial litigation, and privacy law means these matters can be addressed coherently.

Employment — Employer Surveillance and Workplace Gossip

The new tort creates obligations and exposure across employment relationships in both directions.

For employees: covert surveillance of employees by employers — hidden cameras, keystroke logging, access to personal devices, monitoring of personal email accounts — may constitute a serious invasion of privacy where the employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in those circumstances. An employee who discovers they have been covertly monitored may have a direct civil claim against the employer under the new tort, in addition to any employment law remedies available.

For employers: employees who share a colleague’s personal information — medical condition, financial circumstances, relationship status, psychiatric history — without that colleague’s consent may expose themselves and the employer to liability. The employer may face vicarious liability for invasions of privacy committed by employees in the course of their employment. EAGLEGATE advises employers on managing these risks through policy, training, and appropriate governance. The tort also applies to HR professionals, managers, and executives who access or disclose personal information outside their authorised scope.

Domestic Violence, Coercive Control, and Relationship Breakdown

Serious invasion of privacy is a legal issue that arises frequently — and acutely — in the context of domestic and family violence, intimate partner abuse, and relationship breakdown. The behaviours that constitute coercive control — tracking a partner’s location, accessing their accounts, monitoring their communications, sharing intimate images as a form of punishment or control — may now give rise to civil claims under the new tort, in addition to the criminal law consequences.

A civil claim for serious invasion of privacy can proceed regardless of whether criminal proceedings are commenced or have concluded.

If you are in immediate danger, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or call 000. EAGLEGATE can provide legal advice alongside or after you have accessed safety support.

Family Law and Divorce

The breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship creates circumstances in which privacy invasions frequently occur — and in which they cause significant damage. Accessing a former partner’s emails or messages to gather evidence for family law proceedings, installing tracking software on shared devices, using financial account access to monitor spending, or sharing photographs or private information with family members or mutual friends — each of these may give rise to a claim under the new tort, separate from and in addition to any family law proceedings.

Urgent Injunctions to Stop Ongoing Invasions

Where an invasion of privacy is ongoing — continuing surveillance, threatened publication of intimate images, ongoing account access — an urgent injunction from the Supreme Court of Queensland or the Federal Court of Australia can restrain the conduct before further harm is caused. EAGLEGATE applies for urgent injunctions in serious invasion of privacy matters where the circumstances require immediate court intervention, including after-hours applications to duty judges where the threat is imminent. Speed matters: the damage caused by an ongoing invasion of privacy compounds with every hour it continues.

Defendant Advice

EAGLEGATE also advises defendants facing claims under the tort of Serious Invasions of Privacy — including individuals, businesses, employers, and organisations. The available defences under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) include: consent (express or implied by the plaintiff); lawful authority; necessity to prevent a serious threat to life, health, or safety; conduct incidental to lawful defence of persons or property (if proportionate and necessary); and conduct that would be covered by a defamation defence such as absolute privilege. Significant exemptions also apply — for journalists publishing journalistic material, law enforcement agencies, intelligence services, and government entities acting in good faith in the performance of their functions.

1. Assess the Invasion and the Circumstances

We assess whether the conduct constitutes a serious invasion of privacy — establishing the pathway (intrusion upon seclusion or misuse of information), the reasonable expectation of privacy, and the intentional or reckless nature of the invasion — and advise on the merits and the realistic remedies.

2. Identify What Is Urgent

Where an invasion is ongoing — surveillance, account access, threatened publication — we identify whether urgent injunctive relief is required and, if so, apply for it immediately. Stopping the ongoing invasion before it causes further harm is the first objective.

3. Advise Plaintiffs on the Full Claim

We advise plaintiffs on the full range of remedies available — damages including emotional distress, injunctions, account of profits, orders for apology or destruction of material — and structure the claim to pursue the outcome that best addresses the specific harm suffered.

4. Advise Defendants on Available Defences

We advise defendants on the available defences and exemptions, the strength of the plaintiff’s claim, and the most effective strategy — from early resolution through to defending proceedings — to manage the exposure and protect the defendant’s position.