Unley Council leaks ratepayers personal data as it hikes dog registration fee

An Adelaide council has apologised after its mistakenly released personal data in an email as it hiked dog registration fees.

Unley Council has issued an apology to hundreds of ratepayers after a clumsy privacy breach resulted in the leaking of sensitive data.

About 9.45am on Tuesday, an email was sent to more than 300 dog owners informing them of council’s decision to revoke the existing discounted registration fee, mistakenly making all addresses visible.

Five hours later, another email was sent apologising for an “email distribution error”.

“Dear valued customer, council is writing to sincerely apologise for an error that occurred this morning,” regulatory services team leader Robert Tindall wrote.

“Due to a mistake, we sent an email using an open distribution list. Although we quickly recalled the email, we understand that some of you may have still received it.

“We have thoroughly investigated the issue and have taken steps to ensure it does not happen again.

“Council is truly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding.”

Unley council dog owners will have to now pay $49 to own their pets.

Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson said he was pleased to see his council quickly acknowledging the mistake.

“We’ve made a mistake, as you’ve read out there, and they’ve owned up to it,” Mr Hewitson said.

“I’m pleased to see there’s been an open admission of a mistake made on behalf of staff.

“The bureaucracies I don’t trust are those who always claim to get it right.

“The CEO and staff will be taking the appropriate action. I would hope the right balance of action is taken in order to encourage staff to be vigilant.”

The first email was informing dog owners they would no longer enjoy reduced registration fees for dogs who had completed level two training.

The discounted fee is believed to have served as an incentive for owners to train the dogs, but will now cost 566 dog owners a total of $49 each.

The fee was previously a statutory reduction required under the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995, which has since been removed.

In the first email, Mr Tindall said council recognised “the significant benefits for both pets and their families”.

An email sent by Unley Council about dog registration fees inadvertently included the email addresses of 319 ratepayers. Picture: Supplied

Unley Council has apologised for a privacy breach.

“We have always admired the dedication and effort that pet owners put into achieving this training,” he said.

“After careful consideration, the Unley City council will no longer be providing this reduced fee. We understand this news may be disappointing for many of our responsible pet owners who have worked hard to reach this training level as the result will be that you will be required to pay the full registration fee applicable.

“We truly appreciate your understanding and ongoing commitment to responsible pet ownership.”

A council spokesperson said staff would “be retrained and work instructions updated immediately” to prevent another privacy breach occurring again.

Originally published as Unley Council leaks ratepayers personal data as it hikes dog registration fee