17 June 2021
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has released its second six-month report on the privacy protections that apply to the COVIDSafe system.
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said the report sets out the OAIC’s regulatory oversight of the privacy aspects of the system.
“We continue to engage closely with Australian Government agencies and state and territory health authorities to assess implementation of the COVIDSafe privacy protections,” Commissioner Falk said.
“Our assessment program is examining the handling of COVID app data throughout the information lifecycle, from notification, collection, use and storage to access and deletion.
“My office is also continuing to promote our COVIDSafe guidance to increase awareness and understanding of the system’s privacy rights and obligations,” she said.
The OAIC received 14 enquiries about COVIDSafe between 16 November 2020 and 15 May 2021. Ten enquiries raised general issues or concerns about COVIDSafe and four related to a request to download or use the app.
The OAIC did not receive any complaints or data breach notifications in relation to COVIDSafe.
The COVIDSafe Report November 2020-May 2021 can be found at oaic.gov.au/covidsafe-report-nov-2020-may-2021
