Health authorities will not see the results of a Liberal Party survey of voters' views on easing coronavirus restrictions, SA Premier Steven Marshall says.
The survey asked households to rank which restriction they would like to see eased next.
Listed options included community sport, professional sport, international and interstate travel, festivals and concerts, weddings, funerals, places of worship, hospitality, gyms and cinemas.
Premier Steven Marshall said the individual Liberal MPs who authorised the survey would keep the results — and they would not be presented to the state's COVID-19 transition committee.
"They haven't asked for it at this stage," Mr Marshall said.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting information from your electorate, in fact, we encourage it.
"I don't think it's something the Liberal Party is doing — there are Liberal members of parliament, there are Labor members of parliament … [getting] feedback.
"It's done by all political parties."
Health survey a 'political exercise': Labor
Labor MP Chris Picton said the COVID-19 restrictions survey was different to other political surveys — including those previously issued by his own party — because this one sought to use the coronavirus health crisis for "political ends".
"This is not a legitimate exercise — it's a purely political exercise," Mr Picton said.
"This is not going to the health ministry — it is not going to [SA Chief Public Health Officer] Nicola Spurrier and the health experts.
"It's going to the Liberal Party as part of their political campaigning."
Political party data collection 'difficult to track'
Katina Michael from the University of Wollongong said data collection was critical to the way modern political parties operate — but it was difficult to track how data was used and stored.
"Political parties in Australia are exempt from the Privacy Act 1988, from the Spam Act 2003 and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, so there's a lot of mystery surrounding what political parties do with the data they collect," she said.
"Our laws need to catch up with what can and cannot be done in the name of elections, in the name of campaigning, in the name of service provision.
"I think we have to start asking [these] questions."
Professor Michael said survey recipients should exercise caution when responding to material received in the letterbox, over the phone or online.
"Not every survey we receive is a valid one — you have a choice [whether to participate]," she said.
"[You should ask] what is the premise and the underlying motive behind that survey?
"How is your data going to be used and what kind of feedback are you going to receive for the usage of your data?
"Will it be stored for 'x' number of years, until the next election?"
