Privacy Commisioners at odds over Access Card

Notwithstanding the fact that the President of the Australian Privacy Foundation thinks the National Access Card project is dead in the water, consultation comments on the draft Human Services (Enhanced Service Delivery) Bill 2007 continue to hit the deck.

And what a contrast in the views expressed by two of our Privacy Commissioners.

Federal Commissioner Karen Curtis welcomes progress on the privacy front in changes made to the first draft, but provides a list of other suggestions for safeguards that should be considered as spelled out in this submission.

On the other hand, Victorian Privacy Commissioner Helen Versey ( 23 August 2007) says the scheme still raises a whole range of privacy and security concerns. So concerning in fact, that

"In its present form and as embodied by the Exposure Draft, the proposed Access Card still presents unacceptable privacy risks that far outweigh any benefits that a single card might bring. The personal information of most, if not all, of the Australian population remains vulnerable to misuse, including for criminal purposes".