Centrelink in hot water over claims of ‘leaked’ personal info

As you would remember reading in the wake of the Centrelink debt letter scandal, a lot of people came forward with their personal stories.

Now, it’s been alleged that Centrelink staff “leaked” personal information about one of those people to a journalist.

According to reports in the ABC, Centrelink staff gave out personal information about a blogger’s welfare history after she wrote an opinion piece claiming she was ‘terrorised’ over a debt she claimed she didn’t owe.

The information was used write a piece from Centrelink’s perspective on the issue.

The blogger, Andie Fox, has since lodged a formal complaint over the incident.

So, why did Centrelink do it?

Well, a Department of Human Services spokesman told the ABC that Centrelink would continue to release personal information to correct comments made in the media by welfare recipients.

“Unfounded allegations unnecessarily undermine confidence and take staff away from dealing with other claim”, the spokesman said.

You might be wondering whether Centrelink can do that?

According to Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim, they can only do so in “a limited range of circumstances”.

He told the ABC his office was making inquiries with Centrelink and encouraged anybody concerned about the security of their personal information to contact his office.

It’s lead to more attacks against Centrelink from political figures, who have accused the organisation of attempting to “smear” people speaking out.

Labor MP Linda Burney told the ABC she believed the department’s actions were “deeply unethical”.

“The disclosure has occurred deliberately to smear a private individual who has spoken out about the error-prone robo-debt program and the deeply flawed Centrelink debt recovery process,” she said.

What do you think about this? Should Centrelink be able to use people’s personal information to respond to their comments?