Navigating global privacy trends, individual rights and organisational responsibility in a changing Australian privacy landscape
DATE: Tuesday 5 May 2026
TIME: 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm AEST
VENUE: Squire Patton Boggs, Aurora Place, 17/88 Phillip St, Sydney
Privacy is rapidly becoming one of the defining policy challenges of the digital age. As data becomes central to how governments, businesses and platforms operate, expectations around transparency, accountability and individual rights are continuing to evolve.
In Australia, the upcoming Tranche 2 reforms to the Privacy Act represent a significant opportunity to reshape the country’s privacy framework. The propospect of reform raises important questions about how organisations collect, use and protect data, how individuals exercise their rights, and how trust can be maintained in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.
This session explores how data use interacts with individual rights, how Australia’s approach compares globally, and what organisations should be considering as the privacy landscape continues to shift.
Fireside Chat:
Carolyn Lidgerwood, Privacy Vanguard (IAPP 2024)
Before being appointed to the ACMA, Carolyn Lidgerwood worked as the Head of Privacy for the world’s second largest mining company – working across six continents. In that role, she advised on the implementation of new technologies impacting a global workforce – often requiring a balance between health and safety imperatives and the need to respect privacy and maintain trust. The iapp (International Association of Privacy Professionals) awarded Carolyn with a Privacy Vanguard award in 2024 – in recognition of her achievements in leadership, knowledge and creativity in the field of privacy. Her background provides a unique perspective on how privacy operates in practice across complex, real-world environments.
Carolyn will be participating in this panel in her personal capacity – and sharing some stories from her time working at the cutting edge.
Sarah Kruger, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, IAB Australia
Sarah Kruger is Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at IAB Australia. She has extensive experience in government affairs, policy, legal and regulatory work across the Australian, US and European media and technology sectors. Sarah joined IAB Australia from Seven West Media where she was Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, and was previously Chief Legal & Government Affairs Officer at Commercial Radio & Audio. Before coming to Australia, Sarah was a Senior Associate at US firm Covington + Burling, where she worked for the tech industry on international policy issues from London and Washington DC. Sarah holds BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Cambridge, UK.
Panel Discussion
Dr Kate Bower, Director of the PRISM Taskforce at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Dr Kate Bower is Director of the PRISM Taskforce at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Her team is working at the intersection of children’s privacy and safety in online spaces, by developing the Children’s Online Privacy Code and implementing privacy safeguards in relation to the Social Media Minimum Age Act. Prior to joining the privacy regulator, Kate was a leading digital and consumer rights advocate championing comprehensive privacy protections and fair and safe AI for all Australians at Digital Rights Watch, UTS Human Technology Institute and CHOICE. As founder of the consumer data team at CHOICE, she spearheaded campaigns on privacy reform, facial recognition technology and AI regulation. She has a PhD from UTS and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from UNSW.
Eliza Knapp, Director of Privacy at Atlassian
Eliza Knapp is a Director of Privacy at Atlassian, specialising in privacy, data governance, and responsible artificial intelligence. With experience spanning private practice and in?house roles across sectors such as technology, telecommunications, and healthcare, Eliza advises at the cutting edge of innovative technology and data use, helping organisations build and scale products and services that are privacy?resilient, trustworthy, and support successful business outcomes.
Moderator:
Tanvi Mehta Krensel, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Tanvi Mehta Krensel is a partner in Squire Patton Boggs’ Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Digital Assets group. Tanvi is a commercial lawyer with deep experience advising on a wide range of complex agreements, and a particular focus on technology, privacy, cybersecurity and emerging products.
Tanvi also spent two years as Product Privacy Lead for TikTok, supporting the Asia Pacific and emerging markets region. Her role there covered a variety of novel issues arising in relation to developing technologies, including privacy, AI and online harms and safety.
Tanvi was named as a Leading In-House Intellectual Property & Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Lawyer in Australia in Doyle’s Guide 2025. She is a contributor to Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law Guidance Notes on transferring IT systems, due diligence in AI contracting and copyright due diligence in M&A transactions.
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