QDOS data security ‘assured’, Daniel Andrews team told

Email twist in data security in QDOS-Andrews secret surveys.

QDOS owner John Armitage. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The management of personal data generated by the Andrews government's political intelligence strategist’s voter surveys became a focus for senior managers in the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Emails reveal an “internal document” was prepared within senior levels of the government on the issue and QDOS Research also explained to a department manager that staff who recruited voters for its surveys told them “confidentiality is assured”.

An email dated July 25, 2022 – released under Freedom of Information to The Weekend Australian – sent by a DPC manager raised the issue of personal data management.

“Can you please confirm that the following correctly describes the personal data management, consent processes and identification for the community attitudes survey data? This is for an internal document,” the email states.

The DPC manager then sets out in the email their understanding of how the “community attitude surveys” operate. The recipient of the email and their role were redacted by the DPC.

“This is administered via a contracted supplier (currently QDOS Research) and DPC receives data tables (summaries) and reports of findings which are stored on Content Manager in protected ­folders,” the email states. “There is provision for DPC to access the raw data in the contract however this has not been requested in the current contract period (since ­December 2019). This data would be de-identified before being provided to DPC.”

The DPC email reveals that the QDOS briefing reports generated by the surveys were shared with the Premier’s Private Office. “CAS reports are presented to the ­Advertising Communications and Planning Committee, so are classified as Cabinet in Confidence documents and are not publicly released,” the email states. “The reports are distributed on a very limited basis to SCEP executive; the Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Communications and Corporate; and Premiers Private Office.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: NewsWire/Diego Fedele

Premier Jacinta Allan’s office and QDOS chief John Armitage did not respond to questions from The Weekend Australian relating to the personal data issue.

The July 25 email also refers to voter focus groups which QDOS also ran for the Andrews government, stating that the forums were “recorded for the purposes of the supplier (QDOS) writing up the report” and that the research manager in the DPC’s strategic communication, engagement & protocol branch could watch the groups. It’s previously been reported that members of the PPO watched live and recorded QDOS focus groups.

On September 19, 2022, a QDOS research director, whose identity has been redacted, sent an email to a manager within the DPC on the issue of privacy, saying voters were told their “confidentiality is assured”.

Under a section referred to as “Recording”, the QDOS email states: “Sessions are recorded for the research purposes only, so the researcher can review and analyse the discussion to report to their client afterwards. The recording will be used for the purposes of this ­research and no other commercial activity.”

The Weekend Australian ­revealed on Friday that QDOS, which was paid more than $2m to run the secretive program for the Andrews government, surveyed voters about Labor’s performance on core services such as public transport, roads, hospitals and schools just six weeks before the November 2022 state election.

Documents and emails marked “cabinet in confidence” confirm QDOS Research conducted three waves of voter surveys in the six months before the election on ­November 26.