Vegan activist map to fall under privacy act

The Aussie Farms website is now set to fall under the Privacy Act.

Animal activists group, Aussie Farms, created an interactive satellite map with the exact locations and address of farmers' properties. Vegan activists have used the map to trespass onto Aussie farms. Picture: contributed

THE Aussie Farms website is now set to fall under the Privacy Act, after previously being exempt.

The website, which surfaced at the beginning of the year, features an interactive map of Australia and has marked every factory farm, slaughterhouse, farm, and supposed 'animal exploitation facilities'.

The Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner previously found that Aussie Farms was exempt from the Privacy Act because its annual turnover was less than $3 million.

However, the Coalition Government will now bring the Aussie Farms website under the Privacy Act, exposing it to potential penalties of more than $400,000 if it breaches the act.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the activities of Aussie Farms created an unacceptable risk to hard-working farming communities and producers across Australia.

"The company publishes information about Australian farmers and agricultural producers including their names and addresses, exposing them to potential trespass, biosecurity hazards, and reputational damage," the Attorney-General said.

"Listing this activist group as an organisation under the Privacy Act now means that the company will have to abide by the provisions of the act."

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said he had repeatedly asked Aussie Farms to take the website down before someone was hurt, or worse.

The group behind the website has continually flat-out refused to do so.

"The farming families who grow our food deserve to be able to do so without fear of invasion on their property and harm to their children," Minister Littleproud said.

"The Aussie Farms website is intended to be an attack map for activists and it is already working as one. The fact Aussie Farms refused to take the website down when invasions began happening on farms displayed on their map shows they intend for it to be used as an attack map for activists.

Minister Littleproud has also called on state governments to beef up trespass laws.

He said he wanted state governments to provide real penalties for trespass, and to publicly state they expect the police will uphold these laws.

This will allow the Information and Privacy Commissioner to investigate, either in response to a complaint or on her own initiative, if Aussie Farms Incorporated has breached the Privacy Act with their online interactive map.

The prescription comes into force as of tomorrow (Saturday, April 6).