Senator Jacqui Lambie has unleashed on the Veterans Affairs Minister for being “missing in action” over reports veterans’ data was handed to a university without their consent.
The Department of Veterans Affairs routinely transferred the medical data of veterans to the University of South Australia for research purposes over two decades, as first reported by The Saturday Paper.
The files were transferred to the Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services (MATES) program, which aims to improve the use of medicines and related health services in the veteran community.
Senator Lambie said the reports left her feeling “sick in the guts” and called for Matt Keogh to front the media and give a detailed explanation.
“Where is (Mr) Keogh, the coward? You come out and tell us what’s happened with our documents, you coward,” Senator Lambie said.
“He has gone missing in action. They know what’s going on in DVA and I want some answers.”
In a letter to Senator Lambie sent on Thursday evening, the minister acknowledged and apologised for “any trauma that this issue has caused you and others in our veteran community”.
He said veteran participation in the program was conducted through an opt-out system.
Earlier this year, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ruled DVA had “interfered” with the complainant’s privacy and breached two key elements of the Australian Privacy Principles.
It awarded the complainant $5000 in compensation, six years after they first made the complaint.
In a statement, a DVA spokesman said there had “not been a breach of (veterans’) data, and there is no systemic data security issue”.
“The recent determination by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) does not relate to or indicate any data or security issues with the MATES program,” they said.
“The OAIC determination relates to an individual case in 2017 whereby an individual opted out of participation in the program and DVA did not fully implement this request. DVA has unequivocally apologised for this.”
But Senator Lambie, who served in the army for 11 years, remained concerned her own private health data had been shared without her express consent.
“They would have my documents. I gave them no permission to have a look at my documents. Who else in the DVA, what other ministers in the past have been through my documents?” she said.
She said since speaking out about the reports a week ago she had received dozens of calls from concerned veterans.
“They are absolutely ropeable. All those veterans, can imagine, you know, saying oh my god, what the hell?” she said.
A privacy audit was completed by the department in 2022. Last week, the department Secretary requested a review to ensure all requests to opt out of the program had been actioned appropriately.
“Veterans have always had the ability to opt out of the program. However, in response to the OAIC determination, DVA has taken steps to more prominently communicate this, so veterans can make an informed decision about their participation,” the spokesman said.
The department said it has “no plan” to cease the operation of the program.