The federal court has launched a snap investigation of how it potentially broke the law an estimated 400 times by revealing the names of asylum seekers on a public website.
John McMillan, a senior lawyer, former commonwealth ombudsman, privacy commissioner and inspector general of intelligence, is conducting a review into how the names of some of the most vulnerable people to come before the court were published on the commonwealth courts portal.
McMillan’s appointment was announced on 28 April and he is scheduled to report to the court next month.
The court pulled down the portal, which is widely used by lawyers, journalists and the general public, in late March after the ABC revealed the data breach.
Its information technology division is now trying to restore the website but with a fix likely to be weeks or months away the court is planning to regularly issue a list of new proceedings as a stopgap measure.
The federal court routinely hears migration cases, including from people seeking asylum in Australia who are challenging the government’s decision to deny them a protection visa.
Under the Migration Act, it and other commonwealth courts must not publish the names of people involved in legal proceedings relating to their application for a protection visa.
McMillan has been asked to investigate the cause of the data breach, identify the people whose personal information has been exposed and “ensure that the circumstances giving rise to the data breach have been rectified and that proscribed data exposure will not occur”.
He has also been asked to liaise with the attorney general over the breach and respond to people concerned that their personal information may have been published.
A spokesman for the court said the terms of reference and timeframe had been agreed with McMillan and would “allow for a thorough and wide ranging investigation that considers all relevant matters”.
“The final number of affected individuals is still yet to be determined, but it is expected to be approximately 400,” he said.
He said the court had given priority to working on public access to search bankruptcy, admiralty and native title proceedings.
“In addition, the court will soon commence the publication of a list of proceedings on its website which will enable the public to monitor filings,” he said. “A list of hearings that can be monitored remotely continues to be published in daily court lists.”