Compare countries

Two or three countries, side by side, one row per question. Pick up to 3.

Countries

AustraliaChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: MediumEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Australia has no general rule that data must stay in the country. You may send personal information anywhere, and no destination is banned. The catch is that you stay legally responsible for whatever your overseas supplier does with it. Small businesses under A$3 million turnover are exempt from the main privacy law. Specific industries are far stricter, and one of them carries a prison sentence.
The catch: The relaxed headline stops the moment you touch six areas. National electronic health records may not leave Australia at all, and taking them offshore is a crime punishable by five years in prison. Banks and insurers must tell the banking regulator before any offshore arrangement. Open banking data, critical infrastructure data, Australian Government hosting and Queensland state government data each have their own rules. Check your sector before you believe the headline.
Does this apply to me?: Yes, it reaches you even with no office in Australia. The national privacy law applies to any organisation that carries on business in Australia, whether or not the data is collected or stored here. But Australia has something most countries do not: a real size threshold you can fall below. A business with annual turnover of A$3 million (about US$2 million) or less is generally exempt. That exemption has big holes: it does not apply if you provide a health service, if you buy or sell personal information, or if you supply services under a federal government contract. No local representative and no registration are required.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: In general, yes. Australia has no national law saying personal data must be kept in the country, and no country is blacklisted. You can pick any cloud region you like. What you cannot do is hand off the risk: if your overseas supplier does something with the data that would break Australian rules, the law treats that as your own breach. The hard walls are industry by industry, and the health one is absolute.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: Before data leaves, you must take reasonable steps to make sure the overseas recipient will handle it the Australian way. In practice that means a contract with the right promises in it. There is no government form to file, no approval to wait for, and no list of approved countries to check. A power to approve countries was switched on in December 2024, but as of today the government has not named a single one. The alternative routes are narrow: you can rely on the recipient already being covered by a substantially similar law, or on the person's informed consent after you warn them you will no longer be responsible.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. It is staffed, it has a sitting Privacy Commissioner, and it is issuing decisions. In October 2025 the Federal Court ordered a pathology company to pay A$5.8 million (about US$3.8 million), the first court penalty in the law's history. The regulator sued Optus in August 2025, settled with Meta for A$50 million in December 2024, and in June 2026 alone published formal findings against Optus, American Express and two health providers. Banking, cyber security, online safety and open banking each have their own separate regulator, and all of them are working.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: There is a floor and a ceiling and they pull in opposite directions. The clearest floor is telecoms: phone and internet providers must keep call and connection records for two years, and must encrypt them. The general ceiling has no number attached — you must destroy or de-identify personal information once you genuinely no longer need it. Two ceilings are sharp. A social media platform must destroy age-check information as soon as it has finished using it. A digital identity provider must destroy a face or fingerprint scan immediately after the identity check is complete.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count four clocks, because they run at different speeds. If you pay a ransom and your Australian turnover is above A$3 million (about US$2 million), you have 72 hours to report the payment to the government. If you run critical infrastructure, you have 12 hours for an attack that seriously hits availability, and 72 hours for a lesser one. If you are a bank, insurer or superannuation fund, you have 72 hours for a security incident and only 24 hours if a critical service goes down beyond tolerance. For an ordinary personal data breach you get up to 30 days to assess whether it is serious, then you must tell the regulator and the affected people as soon as you practically can. There is no fixed hour count for that last one, which is the part people get wrong.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that will cost you a weekend. First, moving national electronic health record data offshore is a crime, not a fine: up to five years in prison. Second, you never stop owning your supplier's mistakes — a major bank had to get a special ruling from the Privacy Commissioner just to keep processing international money transfers. Third, since December 2025 social media platforms must keep under-16s off the service and then destroy the age-check data they collected. Fourth, Queensland's rule for state government data is stricter than the national one and is hidden in section 33 of the Act, not in the numbered principles — the principle numbered 8 says there is no equivalent. Fifth, the value of a penalty unit rose to A$364 (about US$240) on 1 July 2026, so every fine figure you looked up before then is now understated.High confidence
What's about to change?: One date dominates: 10 December 2026. On that day privacy policies must start explaining computer-made decisions that significantly affect people, and the new Children's Online Privacy Code must be finalised and registered. The draft of that code was out for public comment from 31 March to 5 June 2026. Further out, the tougher critical infrastructure duties made in June 2026 start biting from mid-2027 and mid-2028 as their grace periods run out. Watch three switches the government already holds and can flip with no consultation.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: Health and social care — My Health Records Act 2012, section 77

HungaryChecked 18 August 2026

Yes, with paperworkWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Hungary has no general rule that data must stay in the country. It runs on the European rulebook: you may send data abroad if you have the right legal paperwork in place. Hungary used to force state registers to be processed on Hungarian soil, but that rule was scrapped in April 2024. The privacy regulator is real, staffed and issuing decisions, though its fines are small by European standards.
The catch: Two things break the easy answer. Since January 2025 a large slice of the economy — energy, transport, banking, health, water, digital infrastructure, waste, manufacturing and most of the public sector — may only use a shared cloud or process data outside Hungary after completing a formal data classification under the cybersecurity law. And an online casino serving Hungarian players must keep its game server inside the European Economic Area, full stop.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. A company with no office in Hungary is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Hungary or watches their behaviour, because the European privacy rules reach outside Europe. There is no revenue or headcount threshold to hide under. If you have no establishment anywhere in Europe you must appoint a written representative inside Europe, and Hungary is a perfectly ordinary place to put one.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Yes, on the normal European terms — nothing in general Hungarian law says data must be stored in Hungary. This is a change worth noticing: the rule that state registers could only be processed on Hungarian soil was repealed with effect from 1 April 2024, and the law that replaced it has no territorial restriction at all. Two sectors override this. An online casino must keep its game server inside the European Economic Area. And any company or public body inside the scope of Hungary's cybersecurity law must finish a formal data classification before it uses a shared cloud service or processes data abroad.Medium confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: You need a European transfer tool before the data leaves, and Hungary adds no extra permit, filing or fee on top. The model is an approved-list one: you may send data to a country the European Commission has declared safe, or you sign the standard European contract clauses and write down a risk assessment of the destination. There is no Hungarian government sign-off, and no Hungarian list of banned countries. For police, security and other work outside the European privacy rules, Hungary's own Info Act sets the conditions instead.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, known by its Hungarian initials NAIH, and it is genuinely working. It has published decisions right through to May 2026, released its report on 2025 activity on 30 March 2026, and issued public statements in July and August 2026. Its president is Dr Attila Peterfalvi. The catch is size, not activity: a typical fine is small — two million forint, roughly six thousand dollars, in an April 2025 data-security case.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Hungary pushes hard in both directions. The floor is long: accounting records and vouchers must be kept for eight years, and health records for decades — the health data law works in periods of thirty years and more. The ceiling is the European rule that you delete personal data once the purpose is spent. When the two collide, the specific statutory keep-period wins, so a deletion request does not empty your ledgers or a hospital's files.Medium confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count at least two clocks, and three if you are a bank. A personal data breach goes to the privacy regulator within 72 hours. A cyber incident at a company or public body covered by the cybersecurity law goes to the national incident response centre, and the European rules that Hungary is copying use a 24-hour first alert followed by a fuller report at 72 hours. Financial firms have a separate and faster set of deadlines under the European operational resilience rules.Medium confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that are not in the summary. One: mishandling personal data is a crime in Hungary, not just a fine — up to one year in prison, two years for sensitive data, three years for public officials. Two: the old rule forcing state data to stay in Hungary is dead, so quoting it makes you look out of date, while the new cybersecurity classification gate is very much alive and most checklists miss it. Three: several cybersecurity deadlines have already passed, so newly in-scope companies are late on day one. Four: an online casino's game server must sit in the European Economic Area. Five: Hungary's freedom-of-information regime can make your contract with a state body public.High confidence
What's about to change?: Three dated items. The Court of Justice will rule on Hungary's sovereignty protection law; the court's adviser said on 12 February 2026 that it breaks European law, and the judgment could land any time. From 12 January 2027 cloud providers across Europe, Hungary included, must charge nothing to move your data out. And Hungary's cybersecurity supervision moves from paperwork to inspections now that the first audit deadline of 30 June 2026 has passed.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: Online gaming — 1991. evi XXXIV. torveny a szerencsejatek szervezeserol es a vegrehajtasi rendeletei (online kaszinojatek engedelyezesi feltetelei)
Government — 2021. evi XCI. torveny a nemzeti adatvagyonrol, 13. §

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	AustraliaChecked 18 August 2026	HungaryChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Depends on your industry Work: Medium Enforcement: Active	Yes, with paperwork Work: High Enforcement: Active
In one paragraph	Australia has no general rule that data must stay in the country. You may send personal information anywhere, and no destination is banned. The catch is that you stay legally responsible for whatever your overseas supplier does with it. Small businesses under A$3 million turnover are exempt from the main privacy law. Specific industries are far stricter, and one of them carries a prison sentence.	Hungary has no general rule that data must stay in the country. It runs on the European rulebook: you may send data abroad if you have the right legal paperwork in place. Hungary used to force state registers to be processed on Hungarian soil, but that rule was scrapped in April 2024. The privacy regulator is real, staffed and issuing decisions, though its fines are small by European standards.
The catch	The relaxed headline stops the moment you touch six areas. National electronic health records may not leave Australia at all, and taking them offshore is a crime punishable by five years in prison. Banks and insurers must tell the banking regulator before any offshore arrangement. Open banking data, critical infrastructure data, Australian Government hosting and Queensland state government data each have their own rules. Check your sector before you believe the headline.	Two things break the easy answer. Since January 2025 a large slice of the economy — energy, transport, banking, health, water, digital infrastructure, waste, manufacturing and most of the public sector — may only use a shared cloud or process data outside Hungary after completing a formal data classification under the cybersecurity law. And an online casino serving Hungarian players must keep its game server inside the European Economic Area, full stop.
Does this apply to me?	Yes, it reaches you even with no office in Australia. The national privacy law applies to any organisation that carries on business in Australia, whether or not the data is collected or stored here. But Australia has something most countries do not: a real size threshold you can fall below. A business with annual turnover of A$3 million (about US$2 million) or less is generally exempt. That exemption has big holes: it does not apply if you provide a health service, if you buy or sell personal information, or if you supply services under a federal government contract. No local representative and no registration are required.High confidence	Yes. A company with no office in Hungary is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Hungary or watches their behaviour, because the European privacy rules reach outside Europe. There is no revenue or headcount threshold to hide under. If you have no establishment anywhere in Europe you must appoint a written representative inside Europe, and Hungary is a perfectly ordinary place to put one.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?	In general, yes. Australia has no national law saying personal data must be kept in the country, and no country is blacklisted. You can pick any cloud region you like. What you cannot do is hand off the risk: if your overseas supplier does something with the data that would break Australian rules, the law treats that as your own breach. The hard walls are industry by industry, and the health one is absolute.High confidence	Yes, on the normal European terms — nothing in general Hungarian law says data must be stored in Hungary. This is a change worth noticing: the rule that state registers could only be processed on Hungarian soil was repealed with effect from 1 April 2024, and the law that replaced it has no territorial restriction at all. Two sectors override this. An online casino must keep its game server inside the European Economic Area. And any company or public body inside the scope of Hungary's cybersecurity law must finish a formal data classification before it uses a shared cloud service or processes data abroad.Medium confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	Before data leaves, you must take reasonable steps to make sure the overseas recipient will handle it the Australian way. In practice that means a contract with the right promises in it. There is no government form to file, no approval to wait for, and no list of approved countries to check. A power to approve countries was switched on in December 2024, but as of today the government has not named a single one. The alternative routes are narrow: you can rely on the recipient already being covered by a substantially similar law, or on the person's informed consent after you warn them you will no longer be responsible.High confidence	You need a European transfer tool before the data leaves, and Hungary adds no extra permit, filing or fee on top. The model is an approved-list one: you may send data to a country the European Commission has declared safe, or you sign the standard European contract clauses and write down a risk assessment of the destination. There is no Hungarian government sign-off, and no Hungarian list of banned countries. For police, security and other work outside the European privacy rules, Hungary's own Info Act sets the conditions instead.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. It is staffed, it has a sitting Privacy Commissioner, and it is issuing decisions. In October 2025 the Federal Court ordered a pathology company to pay A$5.8 million (about US$3.8 million), the first court penalty in the law's history. The regulator sued Optus in August 2025, settled with Meta for A$50 million in December 2024, and in June 2026 alone published formal findings against Optus, American Express and two health providers. Banking, cyber security, online safety and open banking each have their own separate regulator, and all of them are working.High confidence	The National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, known by its Hungarian initials NAIH, and it is genuinely working. It has published decisions right through to May 2026, released its report on 2025 activity on 30 March 2026, and issued public statements in July and August 2026. Its president is Dr Attila Peterfalvi. The catch is size, not activity: a typical fine is small — two million forint, roughly six thousand dollars, in an April 2025 data-security case.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	There is a floor and a ceiling and they pull in opposite directions. The clearest floor is telecoms: phone and internet providers must keep call and connection records for two years, and must encrypt them. The general ceiling has no number attached — you must destroy or de-identify personal information once you genuinely no longer need it. Two ceilings are sharp. A social media platform must destroy age-check information as soon as it has finished using it. A digital identity provider must destroy a face or fingerprint scan immediately after the identity check is complete.High confidence	Hungary pushes hard in both directions. The floor is long: accounting records and vouchers must be kept for eight years, and health records for decades — the health data law works in periods of thirty years and more. The ceiling is the European rule that you delete personal data once the purpose is spent. When the two collide, the specific statutory keep-period wins, so a deletion request does not empty your ledgers or a hospital's files.Medium confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	Count four clocks, because they run at different speeds. If you pay a ransom and your Australian turnover is above A$3 million (about US$2 million), you have 72 hours to report the payment to the government. If you run critical infrastructure, you have 12 hours for an attack that seriously hits availability, and 72 hours for a lesser one. If you are a bank, insurer or superannuation fund, you have 72 hours for a security incident and only 24 hours if a critical service goes down beyond tolerance. For an ordinary personal data breach you get up to 30 days to assess whether it is serious, then you must tell the regulator and the affected people as soon as you practically can. There is no fixed hour count for that last one, which is the part people get wrong.High confidence	Count at least two clocks, and three if you are a bank. A personal data breach goes to the privacy regulator within 72 hours. A cyber incident at a company or public body covered by the cybersecurity law goes to the national incident response centre, and the European rules that Hungary is copying use a 24-hour first alert followed by a fuller report at 72 hours. Financial firms have a separate and faster set of deadlines under the European operational resilience rules.Medium confidence
What's the trap?	Five things that will cost you a weekend. First, moving national electronic health record data offshore is a crime, not a fine: up to five years in prison. Second, you never stop owning your supplier's mistakes — a major bank had to get a special ruling from the Privacy Commissioner just to keep processing international money transfers. Third, since December 2025 social media platforms must keep under-16s off the service and then destroy the age-check data they collected. Fourth, Queensland's rule for state government data is stricter than the national one and is hidden in section 33 of the Act, not in the numbered principles — the principle numbered 8 says there is no equivalent. Fifth, the value of a penalty unit rose to A$364 (about US$240) on 1 July 2026, so every fine figure you looked up before then is now understated.High confidence	Five things that are not in the summary. One: mishandling personal data is a crime in Hungary, not just a fine — up to one year in prison, two years for sensitive data, three years for public officials. Two: the old rule forcing state data to stay in Hungary is dead, so quoting it makes you look out of date, while the new cybersecurity classification gate is very much alive and most checklists miss it. Three: several cybersecurity deadlines have already passed, so newly in-scope companies are late on day one. Four: an online casino's game server must sit in the European Economic Area. Five: Hungary's freedom-of-information regime can make your contract with a state body public.High confidence
What's about to change?	One date dominates: 10 December 2026. On that day privacy policies must start explaining computer-made decisions that significantly affect people, and the new Children's Online Privacy Code must be finalised and registered. The draft of that code was out for public comment from 31 March to 5 June 2026. Further out, the tougher critical infrastructure duties made in June 2026 start biting from mid-2027 and mid-2028 as their grace periods run out. Watch three switches the government already holds and can flip with no consultation.High confidence	Three dated items. The Court of Justice will rule on Hungary's sovereignty protection law; the court's adviser said on 12 February 2026 that it breaks European law, and the judgment could land any time. From 12 January 2027 cloud providers across Europe, Hungary included, must charge nothing to move your data out. And Hungary's cybersecurity supervision moves from paperwork to inspections now that the first audit deadline of 30 June 2026 has passed.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall	Health and social care — My Health Records Act 2012, section 77	Online gaming — 1991. evi XXXIV. torveny a szerencsejatek szervezeserol es a vegrehajtasi rendeletei (online kaszinojatek engedelyezesi feltetelei) Government — 2021. evi XCI. torveny a nemzeti adatvagyonrol, 13. §