Cookie Consent in 2024: Why Your Australian Website Is Probably Breaking the Law (And How to Fix It)

TL;DR: Your website tracking is likely illegal in the EU, UK, and California. Australia’s joining the party in 2024. Here’s how to not get sued. 👇

Listen, I had a client nearly shit themselves last week.

Why? They just realised they’ve been illegally tracking thousands of European visitors for years. Oops.

Here’s the thing: If you’re slapping GA4, Facebook Pixels, or any tracking tags on your site without proper consent management, you’re playing with fire. 🔥

The Privacy Apocalypse Is Coming to Australia

After 15+ years of implementing tracking solutions for Australian businesses, here’s what’s keeping me up at night:

1. It’s already illegal to track ANY visitors from:

• European Union
• United Kingdom
• California

2. Australia’s Privacy Act is getting a facelift in 2024

• Cookie consent becomes mandatory
• Those cute “We use cookies” banners won’t cut it
• Fines that’ll make your accountant cry

“But Brad, I Already Have a Cookie Banner!”

Yeah, and I have a gym membership. Doesn’t mean I’m using it right.

Here’s what most Australian websites get wrong:

• Installing random cookie popups from WordPress
• Not integrating with Google Tag Manager
• Tracking users before getting consent
• Missing documentation of consent

How to Actually Fix This (The Right Way)

After auditing 100+ websites this year, here’s your gameplan:

1. Choose the Right CMP (Cookie Consent Platform)

• Must integrate with your tag manager
• Needs to block scripts pre-consent
• Should provide consent documentation

2. Configure Google Tag Manager Properly

• Implement consent-based trigger groups
• Set up proper data layer events
• Test, test, and test again

The Cost of Getting This Wrong

Fun fact: Google got fined €150 million for making their cookie consent button too complicated.

That’s like getting a speeding ticket for your car being the wrong shade of blue.

What You Should Do Right Now

1. Check if you’re getting EU/UK/California traffic
2. Audit your current tracking setup
3. Install a Cookie Consent platform
4. Hook all of your GTM triggers to the Cookie Consent platform

The Bottom Line

The privacy train is coming to Australia, and it’s coming fast. You can either:

• Ignore it (and risk massive fines)
• Half-ass it (and waste money)
• Do it right (and sleep better)

Your choice.

---

Brad Farleigh is a technical marketer and web developer based in Perth, Australia. He spends his days as CTO of Bang Digital, and his nights tinkering with his e-commerce projects. Connect with him on LinkedIn