Privacy Commissioner: Govt learned little from privacy breaches

The Privacy Commissioner says Government agencies seem to have learned little from past privacy breaches.

The latest stuff-up is at the Earthquake Commission, which has accidentally sent out details of nearly 10 thousand claimants.

Maree Shroff says the public can rightly expect to have some further reassurance that lessons around privacy have been learned.

"So as a result I'm considering writing to the State Services Commissioner and possibly all public sector chief executives and asking them what precautions they've put in place or are putting in place."

Maree Shroff says ACC has already put measures in place to prevent the accidental emailing of spreadsheets and other agencies should be doing it too.

She says the Government makes us hand over information, but it should respect it and have good stewardship of it.