5/7/2000

Federal Privacy Commissioner Concludes Investigations into AEC

Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton has concluded his investigation into the Australian Electoral Commission's (AEC) disclosure of elector data to the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

The Federal Privacy Commissioner found that there was no legal basis for the AEC to disclose the information to the ATO.

Mr Crompton said: "As part of my investigation, I sought advice from senior legal counsel on whether the AEC was able to supply elector details to the ATO for the purposes of a mail out to support the implementation of A New Tax System. This advice confirmed that there was no legal authority for the disclosure.

"I have provided a copy of my findings, including my legal advice that indicates that release of information was not authorised under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, to both the AEC and the Attorney-General for consideration.

"While this disclosure was in breach of the Privacy Act, the action taken by the Government to stop this use of the information, and the AEC's retrieval of the information, is an appropriate interim remedy.

"I understand that the Government has stated that agencies will not be permitted to use the information contained in electronic copies of the Electoral Roll until amendments or regulations are made to the Commonwealth Electoral Act which authorise such uses.

Mr Crompton observed that: "Recent public debate indicates that there is serious concern within the community over the use of public registers, including the Electoral Roll, for purposes other than the purpose of collection. Many of these are questions arising from new uses of information enabled by new technologies, including the internet and data mining."