Kelly Dickson and Paul Kirton of Macpherson Kelley write:
Heralded a “win for the little, the ordinary people” and a “lesson to all businesses”, Australia’s first privacy class action settlement has been approved by the NSW Supreme Court.
Professor George Newhouse, who led the class action against the NSW Government with client Tracy Evans, was reported saying the matter was “the first to go to court and the first to settle in this way”.
While viewed as “fair and reasonable” by some, the $275,000 settlement approved by Justice Julie Ward, has left others feeling as if the award did not reflect the impacts of the breach. Demand for a letter of apology is high among class action members who, some four years later, are still affected by the data breach.
what was the case about?
A NSW Government contractor, Mr Waqar Malik, unlawfully disclosed personal information of 130 current and former hospital employees. Specifically, Mr Malik sold workers compensation files of 130 ambulance workers to personal injury law firms with the files including medical records such as psychiatric assessments and details of injuries.
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