A cost-cutting culture at ACC is being blamed for a series of privacy breaches involving client's personal information.© 2012 Television New Zealand Ltd
In the latest case, ONE News discovered an employee sent confidential account information on more than 100 clients to the wrong people. The accounts for overdue levies of the 118 ACC clients were mixed up and sent to other clients by mistake last Friday.
ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart fronted up to ONE News, saying he is "deeply apologetic".
It comes after another major privacy breach in March when an ACC employee sent confidential details about 6,000 clients to claimant Bronwyn Pullar.
"ACC is a repeat offender when it comes to these breaches of privacy," Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei told TV ONE's Breakfast. "Part of the problem is ACC is very focussed on cutting costs, getting people off ACC and reducing compensation to clients and not on providing a quality service to injured New Zealanders.
"That is a political decision made by the Minister and the chairman."
She said ACC Minister Judith Collins needs to intervene and not "take her hands off the issue again."
In a statement, Collins said she was unable to comment about the latest breach. "ACC's privacy processes are currently under investigation by the privacy commissioner so it is not appropriate," she said.
Defamation
ACC could face legal action over its latest breach of clients' privacy, a lawyer says. John Miller said this sort of situation seems to be becoming too frequent with ACC.
"This is not only a privacy breach, but this is, I think, defamatory material that's gone out that could affect people's credit," he said.
"ACC could defend a defamation suit by saying 'well, it's true,' but it may not be true, they may have got it wrong."
Labour's ACC spokesman Andrew Little says the blunder is unbelievable.
"With everything ACC has been through this year, you'd think that the one thing they'd be absolutely vigilant about is the information going out from them," Little said.
Each account contained the client's name, ACC number and how much they owe the corporation.
Stewart said the error is "deeply disappointing". In an email sent to staff yesterday, he blames the mistake on human error. ACC only admitted the error after ONE News obtained the email and started making inquiries.
Stewart admitted he would not have gone public and acknowledged the error if ONE News had not asked the question.
In two weeks ACC is meeting with major stake holders and independent auditors KPMG to address its problem with privacy.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/cost-cutting-blamed-latest-acc-privacy-breach-4891754
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