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COVIDSafe data ‘safe in our hands’, says AG office
Legislation passed by the Morrison government has enhanced the privacy protections in the COVIDSafe app, according to Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Naomi Neilson
New legislation has added further protections to the consequences of using the data from the COVIDSafe app for illegal purposes, including a jail term of up to five years and a fine of $63,000 per offence. The Attorney-General’s office hopes this will give Australians the confidence to download the app and trust the private information is safe in its hands.
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Mr Porter said: “The legislation clearly defines the circumstances in which COVIDSafe data can be collected, used or disclosed, as well as prescribing the significant criminal and civil penalties for any misuse.”
The operation of this legislation will be subject to an independent oversight by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Following royal assent, privacy legislation will replace the previous protections introduced under the Biosecurity Act in late April.
Under the legislation, data can only be accessed by an authorised health official from the states and territories, for the sole purpose of contact tracing purposes after a user tested positive to the virus consents to their encrypted data being unloaded.
The Law Council of Australia said it is pleased to see the bill pass through Parliament and although there was still some concern, they are pleased to have been able to work with the government to alleviating concerns from the Exposure Draft Bill.
“We are pleased that the Privacy Commissioner and the addition of [provisions will] enable the commissioner to continue investigations where there is overlap with a law enforcement investigation rather than being required to discontinue,” said president Pauline Wright.
However, a number of concerns remain, including the absence of protections for derivative data obtained from COVIDSafe app data and prohibits reverse engineering of de-identified data.
There is also a preference to see core parameters for the app prescribed in legislation, such as a requirement for the app to be strictly voluntary in every respect and not “pushed out” to users devices.
“It is important that the legislation and its practical application, and the operation of the app and data store, are kept under ongoing parliamentary scrutiny, despite the urgent passage of this legislation,” she said.
The app has already been downloaded more than 5.68 million times, according to Health Minister Greg Hunt: “Having an extra level of community protection gives the government the confidence it needs to continue easing restrictions and reopen our economy.”
