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# Privacy bill would hit 31 of 32 everyday marketing tasks, audit finds
- URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/privacy-audit-finds-31-of-32-marketing-tasks-hit-by-draft-bill/
- Published: 2026-10-03T07:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-03T09:41:45.000Z
- Description: Twenty activities would cost more to run, four would become less effective and seven depend on platform controls. CEO Paul Hewett warned parliament could pass the reforms within 12 months.
- Author: Editor News
- Tags: Marketing, Australia, In Marketing We Trust, #author-xaviery-malinao

By **Xaviery Malinao** · 2026-10-02

TLDR

An activity-by-activity audit of 32 standard marketing tasks found 31 materially affected by Australia's privacy reform exposure draft, released 31 August 2026\. Of those, 20 cost more to run, four become less effective, and seven depend on platform decisions outside marketers' control. Only measuring a company's own performance analytics sits outside the draft's reach.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

0131 of 32 audited marketing activities would be materially affected by the privacy exposure draft, per In Marketing We Trust.

0220 activities can still run under the draft but will cost more, driven by consent capture and vendor contract changes.

03Seven activities depend on controls held by advertising platforms, leaving marketers exposed to third-party decisions.

04The exposure draft gives limited detail on transition periods, compressing preparation time if parliament passes it within 12 months.

05Only measuring a company's own performance analytics sits entirely outside the draft's reach in the agency's assessment.

## The audit and what it found

Digital marketing agency In Marketing We Trust ran an activity-by-activity audit of 32 everyday marketing tasks against the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 (PAP Bill) exposure draft and found 31 were materially affected.[\[1\]](https://www.bandt.com.au/blocked-more-expensive-less-effective-aussie-privacy-reforms-impact-on-marketing-activity/?ref=promptthemarket.com) It is a task-by-task assessment of one real company's marketing stack against the draft, which gives the industry a concrete reference point in a policy debate that has largely stayed abstract.

Of the 31 affected activities, 20 can continue but will cost more to run, four will continue but become less effective, and seven depend on controls held by platforms.[\[1\]](https://www.bandt.com.au/blocked-more-expensive-less-effective-aussie-privacy-reforms-impact-on-marketing-activity/?ref=promptthemarket.com) One activity sat entirely outside the draft's reach: measuring a business's own performance through analytics. These are one agency's findings on one company's stack, and the draft can still change before it reaches parliament.

## What the draft requires

The Attorney-General's Department released the exposure draft on 31 August 2026, with a three-week consultation window that closed 18 September 2026.[\[2\]](https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-reform/consult%5Fview/?trk=public%5Fpost%5Fcomment-text&ref=promptthemarket.com) Five provisions drive most of the compliance work: a technology-neutral definition of direct marketing covering programmatic buying, advertising pixels and cookies; a mandatory opt-out option in every marketing communication; explicit consent before trading in personal information; a broad fair-and-reasonable test replacing Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) 3, 4 and 6; and limited detail on transition or commencement.[\[3\]](https://www.hsfkramer.com/ja/insights/2026-09/the-draft-tranche-2-privacy-act-reforms-whats-there-whats-new-and-whats-missing?ref=promptthemarket.com)

The Attorney-General confirmed the second tranche also introduces a right to erasure for large digital platforms and enhanced data breach response obligations.[\[4\]](https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/press-conference-blue-room-31-08-2026?ref=promptthemarket.com) APPs 3, 4 and 6 currently govern how organisations collect, use and disclose personal information. The new fair-and-reasonable test is broader and less prescriptive, so legal teams will need to assess a wider range of marketing activities case by case rather than applying a clear rule.

## Why 20 activities cost more

The technology-neutral direct-marketing definition brings programmatic buying, pixels and cookie-based retargeting inside the same consent and opt-out requirements that previously applied only to email and SMS. Three operational changes follow that most teams have not yet budgeted: implementing explicit and auditable consent capture, conducting data-flow mapping to document what is collected and where it travels, and renegotiating vendor and platform contracts to reflect updated controller and processor roles.[\[3\]](https://www.hsfkramer.com/ja/insights/2026-09/the-draft-tranche-2-privacy-act-reforms-whats-there-whats-new-and-whats-missing?ref=promptthemarket.com)

The seven platform-dependent activities present a different problem. Benoit Weber, Head of Digital Analytics at In Marketing We Trust, said "Being reliant on platforms is a difficult situation for marketers who will still carry the risk."[\[1\]](https://www.bandt.com.au/blocked-more-expensive-less-effective-aussie-privacy-reforms-impact-on-marketing-activity/?ref=promptthemarket.com) A marketer running conversion tracking through Google or Meta retains legal responsibility under Australian privacy law even when the technical controls sit inside a platform's interface, so if that platform changes its consent handling, the marketer's compliance posture shifts with it.

## The preparation window

Paul Hewett, CEO of In Marketing We Trust, said "The indications are the reforms will pass parliament in the coming 12 months, which is a short window for the amount of work marketers will need to do."[\[1\]](https://www.bandt.com.au/blocked-more-expensive-less-effective-aussie-privacy-reforms-impact-on-marketing-activity/?ref=promptthemarket.com) The HSF Kramer summary published 2 September 2026 noted the draft carries limited information on transitional provisions or commencement, though the firm expects most obligations to get some form of deferred commencement.[\[3\]](https://www.hsfkramer.com/ja/insights/2026-09/the-draft-tranche-2-privacy-act-reforms-whats-there-whats-new-and-whats-missing?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## What to do before parliament votes

Every existing compliance checklist built on APPs 3, 4 and 6 will need to be rebuilt against the fair-and-reasonable test.[\[3\]](https://www.hsfkramer.com/ja/insights/2026-09/the-draft-tranche-2-privacy-act-reforms-whats-there-whats-new-and-whats-missing?ref=promptthemarket.com) A data-flow audit is the logical first task: map what personal information the marketing stack collects, where it goes, and which vendors touch it. Vendor contracts come next, with controller and processor roles made explicit for every third party that receives or processes personal information on the brand's behalf.

A consent management platform review follows from both. If the draft passes with the technology-neutral direct-marketing definition intact, the consent standards that currently apply to email will extend to programmatic buying, pixels and cookies. Teams without a consent management platform that produces auditable records will need one before the bill reaches parliament; the submission window closed on 18 September 2026.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [Blocked, more expensive, less effective: Aussie privacy reforms' impact on marketing activity, In Marketing We Trust via B&T](https://www.bandt.com.au/blocked-more-expensive-less-effective-aussie-privacy-reforms-impact-on-marketing-activity/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
2. [Privacy Reform, Public Consultation, Attorney-General's Department](https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-reform/consult%5Fview/?trk=public%5Fpost%5Fcomment-text&ref=promptthemarket.com)
3. [The Draft Tranche 2 Privacy Act Reforms: What's There, What's New and What's Missing, HSF Kramer](https://www.hsfkramer.com/ja/insights/2026-09/the-draft-tranche-2-privacy-act-reforms-whats-there-whats-new-and-whats-missing?ref=promptthemarket.com)
4. [Press Conference, Blue Room, 31 August 2026, Attorney-General's Department](https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/press-conference-blue-room-31-08-2026?ref=promptthemarket.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026?

It is the second tranche of reforms to Australia's Privacy Act 1988, released as an exposure draft on 31 August 2026\. It introduces a fair-and-reasonable test replacing three existing Australian Privacy Principles, a technology-neutral direct-marketing definition covering programmatic buying, pixels and cookies, a right to erasure for large digital platforms, mandatory opt-outs in every marketing communication, and explicit consent requirements for trading in personal information.

How many marketing activities does the In Marketing We Trust audit say are affected?

31 of 32 everyday marketing activities tested were found to be materially affected. Of those, 20 would cost more to run, four would become less effective, and seven depend on controls held by advertising platforms. Only measuring a company's own performance analytics was found to sit outside the draft's reach.

When does the bill take effect?

The exposure draft does not specify a transition period, and the bill has not yet passed parliament. CEO Paul Hewett of In Marketing We Trust said the indications are that reforms will pass within 12 months, but the timeline remains uncertain and the draft can still change.

What should marketers do now?

The three immediate priorities are: conduct a data-flow audit to map what personal information the marketing stack collects and who handles it; review vendor and platform contracts to make controller-processor roles explicit; and assess whether the consent management platform in use can produce auditable records that meet the draft's expanded consent standards.

[Xaviery Malinao](https://www.promptthemarket.com/xaviery-malinao/)

Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.