Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to Senator Lambie for her question. I think she made a contribution either earlier this week or last week about this issue, and I acknowledge her continued advocacy on behalf of our veteran community. She does, I think, a great job on that front, and I know how much it is appreciated.

I will have to take some of the detail of the question on notice, because the information I have is insufficient to respond fully to your question, Senator Lambie. What I would say is that I understand that the Veterans' MATES program, which is what this refers to, has in fact been in place for some time—I think since the Howard government. I do have information that there has been an acknowledged privacy breach of an individual and that the department has recognised the distress this has caused. I think an apology has been issued or there has been communication from the department. I'm also advised that the department commissioned an external review of its privacy settings and procedures in late 2022 as a result of these matters and has implemented its recommendations. What I don't have is a direct response to the broader issue about the totality of the data and the extent to which anything untoward has occurred in relation to that data. So I will ask the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to ask his department to provide me with an answer on that issue.