Complying with the Privacy Act is one of the biggest challenges facing the insurance industry this year, HR and compliance consultancy Gold Seal says.

Areas of concern include what information companies hold, where is it kept, who has access to it and who it is given to, MD Sheila Baker told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“We are getting people to understand the privacy changes before they take place,” she said. “We are doing a lot of work on that at the moment.

The privacy laws, which take effect on March 12, carry data-breach penalties of up to $1.7 million for companies and $340,000 for individuals.

Information gathered by Gold Seal last year during support calls, services and compliance audits shows the changes are a concern, Ms Baker says.

More than 500 insurance intermediaries contacted Gold Seal for HR support last year, and the company carried out compliance audits for 150 companies.

Other industry concerns include the volatility of staff movements in the broking sector.

“There’s a fair bit of rationalisation in the broking industry at the moment, which has caused some areas to have redundancies [while] other areas are hiring,” Ms Baker said.

Leading HR issues facing brokers and underwriters last year included matters such as employee leave, redundancy and contracts.

Staff retention and management were key issues, with keeping excellent staff and “managing those who are not so excellent” top of the list. Compliance audits showed businesses spending a lot of time trying to get staff to align with their goals.