In a letter to the Commission received on 11 April 2006, the Attorney General, the Hon R J Debus MP issued the following terms of reference:

Pursuant to section 10 of the Law Reform Commission Act 1967 (NSW), the Law Reform Commission is to inquire into and report on whether existing legislation in New South Wales provides an effective framework for the protection of the privacy of an individual. In undertaking this review, the Commission is to consider in particular:
• The desirability of privacy protection principles being uniform across Australia.
• The desirability of a consistent legislative approach to privacy in the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002, the State Records Act 1998 , the Freedom of Information Act 1989 and the Local Government Act 1993.
• The desirability of introducing a statutory tort of privacy in New South Wales.
• Any related matters.
The Commission should liaise with the Australian Law Reform Commission which is reviewing the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) as well as other relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies.

Pursuant to section 10 of the Law Reform Commission Act 1967 (NSW), the Law Reform Commission's inquiry into whether existing legislation in New South Wales provides an effective framework for the protection of the privacy of an individual is extended to include consideration of any proposed successor legislation to the Freedom of Information Act 1989.

Consultation Papers:

Consultation Paper 1 - Invasion of privacy (May 2007)

Consultation Paper 3 - Privacy legislation in New South Wales (June 2008)