[JURIST] The Australian government said Tuesday that it is planning to review the country's Federal Privacy Act [text] to assess current policies and also technological changes since the act was passed in 1988 that may impact the law's application. Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock [official profile] announced the review [press release] by the Australian Law Reform Commission [official website] and said that situations like the tsunami disaster [JURIST news archive] last year have brought up areas where the current laws need updating since airlines were prohibited from giving information to the Australian government regarding citizens who were possibly in the vicinity of the catastrophe. The attorney general said the privacy review is not connected with the government's ID card proposal [JURIST report], but MP Nicola Roxon [official profile], a member of the Australian Labor Party [official party website], said this would also be an opportune time for a debate on that issue. The Law Reform Commission is expected to report its findings next year. Australia's ABC News has local coverage.