Professor Peter Leonard

Professor Peter Leonard

Professor

B.Ec (Hons) LLM (Syd)

Business School
School of Management and Governance

Peter Leonard is a data and technology business consultant and lawyer.

Peter is a part-time Professor of Practice (across the Schools of Management and Governance, and Information Systems & Technology Management), within Sydney Business School.

He was a founding partner of Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers and led its technology and data practice over the firm’s growth from four partners to over eighty partners. Following his retirement as a G+T partner in 2017, he continues to assist G+T as a consultant. Peter has for over thirty years advised technology, data and communications businesses across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

His business, Data Synergies, is a business and legal consultancy that assists businesses and other organisations to anticipate and address issues and concerns associated with deployment and use of advanced data analytics, including AI/ML and other automated decision making, and provision of services enabled by multiparty data ecosystems.

Peter serves on the NSW Government Artificial Intelligence Review Committee, tasked to review proposed applications AI, ML and automated decision making across NSW govermnat agencies.

Peter is also one of only two business sector members of the NSW statutory Information and Privacy Advisory Committee, tasked “to provide the government with information, advice, assistance and training to deliver world-leading information and privacy management practices”.

Peter also serves on a number of advisory boards, including for the National Farmers’ Federation’s Farm Data Project, the Canberra Institute for Cyber Security, and the Australian Digital Marketing Association’s Regulation Group.

Peter is immediate past chair of the Australian Computer Society’s Artificial Intelligence and Ethics Technical Committee, the IoT (Internet of Things) Alliance Australia’s Data work stream, and the Law Society of New South Wales’ Privacy and Data Committee.

  • Book Chapters | 2023
    Leonard P, 2023, 'Data privacy, fairness and privacy harms in an algorithm and AI enabled world', in Data and the Digital Self: What the 21st century needs, Australian Computer Society,
    Book Chapters | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, 'The Ethics and Risks of AI Decision-Making: An ACS Primer', in , Australian Computer Society,
    Book Chapters | 2020
    Leonard P; Williams C, 2020, 'Australia', in Intellectual Property in Electronics and Software: A Global Guide to Rights and Their Applications, Second Edition,
    Book Chapters | 2020
    Moore N; Hunt C; Leonard P, 2020, 'Australia', in Helgesson S; Neumann B; Rippl G (ed.), Handbook of Anglophone World Literatures, De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 511 - 530,
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Leonard P; Waters P, 2019, 'Australian jurisdictional report', in Global Telecommunications Law and Practice,
    Book Chapters | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, 'Australian jurisdiction report', in Regulation of Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Data in Asia,
    Book Chapters | 2016
    Leonard P, 2016, 'Australian jurisdictional report', in Data Protection and Privacy, 3rd edition,
  • Journal articles | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, 'Data privacy in a data and algorithm enabled world', Computers & Law,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, 'Review of the 'Privacy Act 1988': Rethinking core concepts of privacy harms', Privacy Law Bulletin,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, 'Workplace surveillance and privacy', Computers and Law: Journal for the Australian and New Zealand Societies for Computers and the Law,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, 'Critically surveying civil surveillance statutes in Australia', Privacy Law Bulletin,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, 'Australia’s mandatory decryption law', PRIVACY LAW BULLETIN,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, 'The long and winding road to fair and responsible government data sharing in Australia', PRIVACY LAW BULLETIN,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, 'Thinking harder about data “ownership” and regulation of data driven business', Privacy Law Bulletin,
    Journal articles | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, 'IoT: who stops Dr Jekyll from becoming Mr Hyde?', IoT Alliance Australia,
    Journal articles | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, 'So, who's in charge here? Being smart enough to boss around smart devices and AI', PRIVACY LAW BULLETIN, Vol. 15, No. 8,,
    Journal articles | 2014
    Leonard P, 2014, 'An Overview of Privacy Law in Australia: Part 2', Communications Law Bulletin, Vol. 33.2,
    Journal articles | 2014
    Leonard P, 2014, 'An overview of Privacy Law in Australia (Part 1)', Communications Law Bulletin, Vol 33.1,
    Journal articles | 2014
    Leonard P, 2014, 'Customer data analytics: privacy settings for 'Big Data' business', INTERNATIONAL DATA PRIVACY LAW, 4, pp. 53 - 68,
    Journal articles | 2012
    Leonard P, 2012, 'Competing visions of a cause of action for invasion of privacy in Australia', Intellectual Property Forum: Journal of the Intellectual and Industrial Property Society of Australia and New Zealand,
    Journal articles | 2010
    Leonard P, 2010, 'Proposals for a statutory cause of action for invasion of privacy in Australia: a brief comparison', Privacy Law Bulletin,
    Journal articles | 2010
    Leonard P, 2010, 'Safe Harbors in Choppy Waters - Building a Sensible Approach to Liability of Internet Intermediaries in Australia', Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law, Vol. 29.3,
    Journal articles |
    Leonard P, 'Business-to-Consumer IoT Services, Consumer Protection and Regulation', SSRN Electronic Journal,
    Journal articles |
    Leonard P, 'Data Commercialisation: Contracts, Safeguards and No-Go Zones', SSRN Electronic Journal,
    Journal articles |
    Leonard PG, 'Is Data Your Most Valuable Asset that You Never Owned?', SSRN Electronic Journal,
    Journal articles |
    Leonard PG, 'Social Licence and Digital Trust in Data-Driven Applications and AI: a Problem Statement and Possible Solutions', SSRN Electronic Journal,
  • Reports | 2022
    Leonard P, 2022, Data privacy, fairness and privacy harms in an algorithm and AI enabled world,
    Other | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, Can your digital advertising business paper its way to compliance with data privacy law?, iab Australia Bulletin,
    Other | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, Getting on the Front Foot: Managing Consumer Data in Ad Data Ecosystems, iab Australia Bulletin,
    Other | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, The misunderstood and fraught world of regulating adtech, iab Australia Bulletin,
    Conference Papers | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, 'Doing Digital Business in Asia: protecting trade secrets and confidential information’', American Bar Association, Virtual Meeting, presented at American Bar Association Business Law Section Virtual Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, 21 September 2020 - 25 September 2020
    Other | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Beyond Data Privacy: Data Ownership and Regulation of Data Driven Businesses, American Bar Association * Science & Technology Section, ,
    Reports | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Notice, Consent and Accountability: addressing the balance between privacy selfmanagement and organisational accountability,
    Other | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Novel coronavirus spawns novel law-making in Australia, ,
    Reports | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Privacy Harms: A research paper for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’,
    Reports | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Submission of Data Synergies in Response to Privacy Act Review: Issues Paper,
    Other | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, The Deceptive Algorithm in Court: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Trivago N.V. [2020] FCA 16, UK Society for Computers and the Law, ,
    Conference Papers | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, 'Digital assets: Novel property concepts and emerging concerns and issues', Sydney, Australia, presented at NSW 12th Annual Tax Forum, Sydney, Australia, 23 May 2019 - 24 May 2019,
    Other | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, Big Data: Understanding and Analysing its Competitive Effects, Competition Policy International, ,
    Other | 2019
    Leonard P, 2019, Jobs Half Done: Getting Smart about Smartphones, ,
    Other | 2018
    Leonard P; Walsh T, 2018, #MeToo for AI? Could Cambridge Analytica happen again?, Society for Computers and the Law Journal, ,
    Other | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, Insights Into the new Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme Part 1, ,
    Other | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, International Standards for Data Breach Notification? Part 2, ,
    Other | 2018
    Leonard P, 2018, IoT: who stops Dr Jekyll from becoming Mr Hyde?, IoT Alliance Australia, ,
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Leonard P, 2017, 'Regulatory trends and emerging practices in access to customer data, portability and data sharing in the financial services sector', Australia, presented at Paper for the Banking & Financial Services Law Association Annual Conference, Australia, 31 August 2017 - 02 September 2017
  • Media | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, Ensuring that responsible humans make good AI, International Association of Privacy Professionals, ,
    Media | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, How to avoid the ethical pitfalls of artificial intelligence and machine learning, ,
    Media | 2021
    Leonard P, 2021, The Battles Between Google, Facebook, and News Media Proprietors Over Fair Value Exchange for News Content, ,
    Media | 2020
    Leonard P, 2020, Getting Smarter about Data in Contracts for Physical Infrastructure, ,
    Media | 2020
    Manwaring K; Leonard P, 2020, How Australia can reap the benefits and dodge the dangers of the Internet of Things, ,

  • Design and specification of privacy and data security by design data architectures, data handling practices and data analytics processes, clean rooms and technical and operational controls and safeguards, to derive value from data, data linkage and data analytics, while not exposing sensitive, trade secret or otherwise confidential data or enabling insights to be derived from data sets where possibility of this derivation will erode citizen or consumer trust.
  • Risk, governance, assurance and maturity frameworks, processes and tools for assessment and mitigation of legal, data security, regulatory and reputational risks associated with data handling and data analytics, and proper management of residual risks,
  • Evolving expectations of affected individuals and new frames of analysis as AI/ML harms to people and the environment, requirements for service interoperability, accessibility and inclusion, and developing societal and sectorial norms and expectations as to organisational responsibility and AI/ML ethics
  • Application to data and analytics business models of laws relating to trade secrets and confidential information, competition and antitrust, consumer protection, data privacy and information security, data localisation, communications carriage and content regulation, cybersecurity and encryption.