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Australian Government Agency Dismisses 100 Employees over Privacy Breaches
Centrelink, a government agency delivering a range of services to the Australian community, dismissed or forced out more than 100 workers, and disciplined hundreds more, for privacy breaches. An investigation of 25,000 Centrelink staff, using Centrelink-designed spyware, uncovered 790 cases of "inappropriate access" to the records of welfare recipients. Nearly 600 staff were detected inappropriately accessing files over a two year period, including unauthorized searches of the records of neighbours and former lovers. As a result of the investigation, 19 staff were dismissed and 92 resigned while the remainder faced disciplinary measures ranging from warnings to demotions. Five cases have been referred to the police for possible prosecution. The crackdown on privacy protection comes as Australia’s Human Services Minister campaigns for an access card designed to co-ordinate welfare payments and government services.
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