CORONAVIRUS — VACCINATIONS — RECORDS
1187. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer to an article in The West Australian of 1 December 2021 titled ''Storage
of vax records 'bamboozles' WA bosses''.
(1) What advice
has been provided to employers required to collect and record the vaccination
of employees and others pursuant to directions issued?
(2) What
reasonable steps should an employer or organisation undertake to protect these
records from unauthorised access or malicious use?
(3) Has the
government sought the advice of the WA government cyber security unit or the
chief information officer to guide the storage and use of this personal
information?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. Honourable member, I note that this question was
asked on 7 December, so the answer was current as of that date.
(1)–(2) In
response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to further enhance the safety of Western Australians,
the Department of Health has issued lawful
directions under the Public Health Act 2016 requiring a number of critical
employment groups to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The directions
detail that employers are to collect and record the vaccination of
employees. The directions and associated frequently asked questions are
available on the WA government website. The directions require that all
reasonable steps are taken to protect the records from misuse, loss,
unauthorised access, alterations or further release. What constitutes
reasonable steps will depend on the circumstances of each workplace and will be
influenced by the normal business practices.
(3) No.