GDPR – What it Means for Your Australian Business
With all the attention the new GDPR has been getting it’d be hard not know something about it, or to at least know of it.
No doubt you’ve been inundated with emails asking you to confirm your subscription or review new privacy policies.
But since Europe is a long way from Australia do we really have to comply with these new laws?
Well, the answer is yes, and I’ll get to the why later, but first let’s get clear on what the GDPR really is, and why it’s a good thing for marketing.
So What Exactly is the GDPR?
Those four letters have been thrown around a lot just lately and everyone claims to know something about it, but do you know enough?
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new regulation to better protect EU citizens’ personal data and how it’s used, similar to the Australian Privacy Act.
Personal data can be anything from names, email addresses, or any other personal information a company may hold about you.
The regulation came into effect on May 25th 2018 …
That’s why many companies changed their privacy policies and user agreements and sent email blasts to everyone on their lists.
What Does it Mean for Australian Businesses?
While the GDPR is a European Union regulation, it doesn’t just apply to businesses within that region.
With the Internet now making it possible to communicate instantly with anyone, anywhere there’s a good chance you have or will have done business with an EU citizen or company somewhere along the way.
And that means you need to comply with the new GDPR laws.
Do You Need to Do Anything Different?
There’s no need to panic and start overhauling all your digital agreements and privacy policies, but it does pay to know your obligations.
By reviewing your policies and processes and complying with the new law it won’t matter if you suddenly find you have a lot of business coming from the European Union because you’ve already taken the right steps.
Besides, if your business is large enough there’s a very good chance you deal with people or other businesses in the EU, even if it’s indirectly.
Ensuring GDPR Compliance
Companies in the EU will be looking for compliance with the GDPR whenever they do business with companies outside the EU because they’re ultimately responsible for that compliance.
So make it easy for them to do business with you by tweaking your terms and conditions to fully comply.
Australian businesses are not recognised as having ‘adequate privacy laws’ by the European Commission so complying with our Australian Privacy Act isn’t going to be good enough.
Why the GDPR is a Good Thing
There is quite of a bit of overlap between the GDPR and Australian Privacy Laws, and more privacy for personal data is always a good thing and encourages people to do business with you.
The new rules can be open to interpretation so do the right thing and seek legal advice to update your personal data and privacy policies properly to ensure compliance.
By complying with the new GDPR laws – without being asked – it shows that you care about your customers and want to do your best for them.
And who wouldn’t want to do business with a company that cares that much about their customers, clients and protecting personal data?
You’ve got this …
Keep the Faith!