New laws needed to protect privacy if vaccine passports introduced

Australia’s privacy chief has warned new legislation may be needed if vaccine passports are introduced.

There is growing debate about ­individual privacy and vaccine passports. Picture: AFP

Australia’s privacy chief has warned new legislation may be needed to protect privacy if vaccine passports are introduced.

Angelene Falk, the Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, whose office administers the federal Privacy Act, says there needs to be a national “harmonised” approach with privacy protections built in “from the ground up”.

In her first public comments on the growing debate about ­individual privacy and the vaccine passports or certificates, she says: “The strongest privacy protections are those mandated by legislation and parliamentary oversight, with clear accountabilities.”

In an opinion piece in The Australian on Monday, Ms Falk writes that while large organisations and health service providers have ­existing obligations under the act to “respect and protect personal information”, not all employers or businesses are covered by this law. Private- sector employee records are also ­exempt from existing legislation.

Under the act, vaccination status is protected and individuals are under no obligation to reveal whether they have had the jab.

However general legal and business opinion is that the act would exempt the Covid-era passports although the states might have to introduce special public health orders to ensure they are legal. The West Australian government is the first to ­announce that visitors will need a style of vaccine passport to enter the state.

Ms Falk’s comments suggest more legislation might be needed to build in limits to how vaccination information is collected and used, once it is revealed.

She writes that Australians expect “any collection of their personal health information to be limited to where it is objectively necessary, and that it will be safeguarded”.

“Australians value their privacy and are concerned about its protection,” she writes.

“Our Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey last year found seven in 10 Australians see privacy as a major concern in their life.”