Federal Election 2019

As Australians consider how to cast their votes in the 2019 Federal Election, we wanted to ensure that some key digital rights policies are highlighted and addressed.

That’s why we’ve compiled a handy scorecard of the major political party’s stance on these policy areas:

  • Protecting privacy, including policies on metadata retention, facial recognition and internet filters
  • The right to use encrypted communications, most notably around the support for the Assistance and Access Act 2018
  • Copyright reform, including support for safe harbour and fair use
  • Ethics in government use of citizen’s data, including Centrelink robo-debt, oversight of surveillance agencies and My Health Record rollout.

You can also download a PDF version of the scorecard here.

The fine print:

  • We sent out a survey to all major political parties, looked at their public policy platforms and analysed prior voting history.
  • The full detail of our analysis and ranking is available here.
  • We encourage voters to read further details on specific policies as available on political party websites.
  • We surveyed a selection of registered political parties, not independents, that are fielding candidates in the 2019 Federal Election.
  • Digital Rights Watch does not endorse or support any particular political party.