Attorney-General George Brandis has appointed Timothy Pilgrim to the role of Australian Information Commissioner and reappointed him as Australian Privacy Commissioner.
Pilgrim has been acting Information Commissioner since July last year. In July Brandis also reappointed him to the Privacy Commissioner role — but only for a 12-month term.
The government in 2014 unsuccessfully sought to scrap the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, finally backing down earlier this year. The 2016-17 federal budget earmarked $37 million for the OAIC over four years (the 2015-16 budget had only provided transitional funding of $1.7 million).
Pilgrim was initially appointed Privacy Commissioner in July 2010, after serving as deputy commissioner from 1998.
“Mr Pilgrim has established a strong reputation in the business community for his considered approach to regulation and understanding of business needs,” Brandis said in a statement.
“Mr Pilgrim has worked internationally to help Australia deal with global privacy challenges, particularly through building closer relationships with other privacy regulators.”