Independent investigation of ACC only option

The announcement this morning a huge breach of privacy by the Accident Compensation Corporation resulted in over 9000 names being sent to a person who was not entitled to receive them, has angered both ACC clients and their support people. The Minister for ACC has called for a internal inquiry into the situation but Dr Denise Powell, president of Acclaim Otago says “A full independent inquiry into the privacy breach reported this morning is the only way to identify what happened and to ensure that such an event never happens again”. “In the era of electronic communication and the ease with which information can be shared, there is absolutely no excuse for such a large corporation that holds highly sensitive and confidential information to not have the appropriate safeguards in place” she said. “ACC has an obligation to ensure clients’ information is held in a secure manner with access only allowed on an authorised basis”. People’s privacy is protected under various New Zealand laws and conventions that New Zealand is a signatory to. “This breach and the fact that senior managers were advised of it apparently over 3 months ago and yet chose to do nothing, shows how blasé some parts of ACC have become towards the privacy of injured people in New Zealand.

We need to identify who was responsible for this breach and hold ACC accountable for the lack of procedure and protocol which allowed it to happen in the first place” Dr Powell concludes.

ENDS

© Scoop Media