FOI Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd to head privacy regulator

The news: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced today that Freedom of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd will head up the privacy regulator from 16 August, moving into the role of Australian Information Commissioner at the end of Angelene Falk's term this year.

The context: Tydd has been in her current role as FOI commissioner since 19 February, as part of a restructured three-commissioner model in which Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind also joined the regulator in February. Tydd's appointment is for a period of five years.

The government plans to shortly commence a search to fill Tydd's position.

What they said: “The move to a three-commissioner model this year was a major step in building the future leadership of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner [OAIC], and I look forward to working with commissioner Tydd and commissioner Kind as I move to the conclusion of my term,” Falk said.