Documents obtained by the Victorian Liberals and Nationals under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws reveal a significant privacy breach within Daniel Andrews’ hotel quarantine program.
In January 2021, personal data relating to travellers and staff, including names, contact numbers, dates of birth, addresses and passport information, was exposed following a privacy breach.
The incident occurred over a four-day period when the email address of a seconded staff member from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority were accessed via cyber intrusion.
Only travellers who had passport details exposed were informed of the breach, with the Department of Health and Human Services declining to inform other travellers and staff potentially exposed to the breach.
Furthermore, as part of the breach, fake invoices were sent to a number of schools and data relating to an unknown number of Victorian students was also exposed.
This significant data breach came months after systemic failures with Daniel Andrews’ hotel quarantine program caused COVID-19 to spread into the community, leading to over 800 deaths and contributing the world’s longest lockdown.
Shadow Minister for Health, Georgie Crozier, said Victorians have been kept in the dark once again over the failings within Daniel Andrews’ hotel quarantine program.
“Yet again, Daniel Andrews has been caught out covering his tracks on another failure,” Ms Crozier said.
“This is a serious incident that has put students, travellers and staff at risk. Victorians deserve straight answers today.
“Why was this breach kept quiet and how many travellers, staff and students have been exposed?
“Daniel Andrews will never tell the truth over his COVID failures. Only a Matthew Guy Liberals and Nationals Government will hold a Royal Commission to avoid repeating the devastating mistakes of the past.”
