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Australians exposed to data breaches will soon be protected by a dedicated privacy watchdog with extra funding to keep information secure.

It will be the first time a standalone privacy commissioner has been appointed in more than eight years.

There will also be increased funding in the federal budget to tackle privacy issues.

Australian information and privacy commissioner Angelene Falk will continue in the dual role until a replacement is found.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said massive data breaches that happened last year, including on Optus and Medibank, were distressing for millions of Australians.

“The former coalition government left Australia disgracefully unprepared for this challenge by failing to update privacy laws and scrapping the position of a standalone privacy commissioner,” he said.

“The Albanese government takes privacy regulation seriously and has already acted to significantly increase penalties for companies which fail to take adequate care of customer data and give the Australian Information Commissioner improved and new powers.”

Tess Ikonomou
(Australian Associated Press)