Proposed laws allowing the government to release veterans’ personal information to publicly correct “misinformation” will undergo an independent privacy assessment.
The government’s bill, which passed the lower house with bipartisan support last week, would allow the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to disclose personal information in limited circumstances, including to counter “misinformation in the community” or “mistakes of fact”.
That appears to allow for the release of the private information of veterans if they criticise the government in a way that undermines confidence in its services.
Concerns have since been raised by veterans’ groups about the proposal. Labor has also signalled it may withdraw its support for the bill, saying the government’s use of welfare recipients’ private details shows it cannot be trusted with such powers.
On Wednesday, the veterans affairs minister, Dan Tehan, said he would request an independent privacy impact assessment.
He said the bill, which formalises the process for such disclosures, was actually designed to strengthen privacy protections for veterans.
“The digital readiness bill’s rules are designed to strengthen privacy protections for veterans as their first priority,” Tehan said. “These rules will codify safeguards about the use of personal information.”
Tehan said consultation with the veterans community had prompted him to act.
The bill has already been subjected to a privacy assessment. It has also been scrutinised by two Senate committees and consultation with the privacy commissioner and the commonwealth ombudsman, according to the government.
“Under the rules, private information and records will be protected,” Tehan said. “Both privacy impact assessments will be released to the public before the rules are tabled in the parliament, as part of the continuing, comprehensive consultation process.
“I welcome any further input from the veteran community and the public.”
Labor raised new concerns about the bill following the release of welfare recipient Andie Fox’s details to Fairfax Media. Fox had criticised the government over its handling of her welfare debt and her relationship and tax history were disclosed to a journalist to show that her criticism was inaccurate.
The government says its disclosure of information about Fox was lawful but Labor has referred the issue for consideration by the Australian federal police.
