Westpac has been accused of breaching Nicky Hager's basic human rights by releasing his personal information to police.

In the lead up to what has since been ruled an unlawful police raid on Mr Hager's home in 2014, police asked Westpac for more than 10 months of Mr Hager's bank transactions.

The police falsely said Mr Hager was being investigated for fraud, but provided nothing to support the claim they needed his information, and Westpac didn't ask for any.

Westpac argued that customers sign over privacy rights under its terms and conditions, but the Privacy Commissioner said it was a breach of privacy to hand over the information without a warrant.

The Council for Civil Liberties chair Thomas Beagle said people should rightly expect their banking to be private.

"I think most people expect their banking and other information to be private most of the time.

"They don't expect it to be handed out on demand."

LISTEN ABOVE: The Council for Civil Liberties chair Thomas Beagle talks to Mike Hosking