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In the first week of its release, the government’s CovidSafe app has apparently been downloaded 4 million times . The app has been heavily promoted by government and it has been endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nurse and the heads of the doctors’ and nurses’ unions.
The release of the app was accompanied by a determination issued by the Health Minister , Greg Hunt. He is empowered under the Biosecurity Act to implement measures that support preventing or controlling the spread of disease. Because of early concerns about privacy, and whether the app would be made mandatory or not, the determination covers both those things: only health officials can access data and only with your consent, and no one is allowed to coerce you to download the app, or upload your data.
Despite the government’s eagerness to promote the app, however, it was revealed yesterday that there was not yet provision for health officials to access contact data. Although people who are using the app so far are collecting information about their contacts, that information can’t yet be used by the health department to work out if they have been in contact with a person with COVID.