Concept
Exemptions are the situations in Section 17 where some or all of the Act's obligations do not apply, such as legal claims, crime investigation, and research.
The Act provides exemptions in Section 17 for processing necessary to enforce a legal right or claim; by courts, tribunals and regulators; for prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences; for certain foreign contracts; for approved mergers and reconstructions; and for ascertaining a loan defaulter's finances, along with exemptions for notified State instrumentalities and for research, archiving or statistical purposes.
The Act is not absolute. Section 17 lists processing that is exempt from parts of it, including enforcing legal claims, judicial functions, investigating offences, and research or statistical use that does not target individuals.
It also allows the government to notify State instrumentalities for national-security-type exemptions, and gives relief and a possible sunset for startups and notified classes.
Processing data purely to investigate an offence, or for research that does not make decisions about specific individuals, can fall within Section 17 exemptions.
Do exemptions remove all obligations?
Not always. Some exemptions lift only specific provisions; others are broader for notified entities.
Are startups treated differently?
The government may notify startups for relief from certain provisions under Section 17(3).