ComVoices says that an enquiry into the privacy failure of MSD’s online reporting platform for community organisations required to provide individual client data (ICLD) addresses only one of the Privacy Commissioner’s four recommendations.

The Privacy Commissioner, John Edwards, has released the report of his inquiry into MSD’s policy linking funding of social services to the supply of individual client data. He describes the demand for client data as "excessive and disproportionate" and concludes that the policy is at odds with the Privacy Act.

The Privacy Commission’s report on the government’s demand for personal data is currently with MSD and will be publicly released any day.

Your organisation has probably received information from MSD on the requirement to hand over your clients’ personal information or lose funding. SSPA does not accept that MSD needs clients’ personal details to ensure services are meeting clients’ needs. It is an imposition on organisations built on the promise of confidentiality. We are particularly concerned that it will deter people from seeking the help they need. We also doubt MSD’s assurances that its information systems are secure.