Check-In TAS data deleted after phase out; Tasmania Police attempted to access data

Tasmania Police attempted to access Check-in TAS data early on after the app was introduced in December 2020, it has been confirmed.

The Health Department refused this request however, as the terms and conditions were tight enough to ensure it was for Public Health use only.

The app was one of the first Public Health measures to be phased out when the Omicron variant spread far quicker than anticipated in Tasmania, resulting in a large number of outbreak sites and making contact tracing ineffective.

It stopped operating on May 2.

Nelson independent MLC Meg Webb questioned health officials about the phase-out during a public accounts committee hearing last week and whether data was still being stored.

Data was required to be deleted after 28 days.

Health Department secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said this had occurred.

“That was a programmed feature of the application,” she said.

Legislation outlined how Check-in TAS data could be shared across agencies if legal and appropriate, but the agencies would need to request access.

Ms Morgan-Wicks said one request was received.

“My understanding was that there had been one early request, which was declined,” she said.

“From Tasmania Police, yes; but noting the terms and conditions in which the application was launched and which all of the information available to the public, it was for Public Health use only.”

Ms Morgan-Wicks mentioned “a couple of instances” were the app assisted in outbreak management, and that data was recorded in other Public Health systems, such as Maven.

That data could not be deleted, but it was not considered the same level of information that the Check-in TAS app had previously stored.

Ms Webb said the COVID pandemic had been a test for the state’s privacy protections.

“The attempt by Tasmania Police to access that data is concerning, and an indication that we should remain vigilant ensuring legal protections for privacy are maintained to the highest degree,” she said.

“It is often emergency or crisis situations that lead to the expansion of police or government powers and the erosion of citizens’ rights and, once lost, it is rare for them to be fully restored.

“This is an aspect of the COVID-19 situation that I will continue to monitor.”