A Tasmanian government employee has been charged after allegedly passing on the personal information of around a thousand people to a debt collector for her own financial gain.
The 34-year-old woman is accused of accessing the information via the national vehicle registration database and giving it to an unauthorised external party for "debt collection purposes".
It is alleged that over a four-year period, the Department of State Growth employee "inappropriately accessed and released" around 1,000 vehicle registration records.
It is understood the woman had pulled the records of vehicles with debts listed against them.
Tasmania Police said it began the investigation in March this year.
The woman has been charged with unauthorised access to a computer and is bailed to appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court in September.
Department 'deeply sorry for any concern'
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said the records relate to both Tasmanian and interstate residents.
"We are in the process of contacting Tasmanian residents whose information may have been released and we are working with other state and territory authorities to notify those affected in their respective jurisdictions", the spokesperson said.
The employee has been stood down pending an internal Code of Conduct investigation. The investigation will not be publicly released.
The department has since taken measures to further restrict access to the system and increased "direct oversight".
It has also engaged external experts to review information security and access arrangements.
In the statement, the department said it was "deeply sorry for any concern that this alleged incident may cause".
Tasmanians who are affected will be contacted by mail.
Any Tasmanians who are concerned that their details may have been released "because of an apparent hastening of debt recovery proceedings" can call a dedicated hotline on 6165 6622.
