G2G PASS — ACCESS — POLICE INVESTIGATIONS
298. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I
refer to data retained by the state government and its contractors in relation
to the G2G PASS data and applications.
(1) Does the WA government
have access to the G2G PASS information for Tasmania, the other state that uses
this program?
(2) On how many occasions has information been sought
for a purpose other than responding to the COVID-19 pandemic?
(3) On how many
individual occasions has information been provided for a purpose other than
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic?
(4) On what date
did the Minister for Police and/or his office first become aware of the
requests from the WA Police Force to access this information?
(5) Please table
any advice or correspondence received by the Minister for Police in relation to
the release of data to investigative agencies or others?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Police.
(1)–(5) The
G2G PASS is operated by the Western Australia Police Force, and community
members wanting to travel to Western Australia request a G2G PASS and as part
of the pass application process, voluntarily provide
their details to police. The G2G PASS application page specifies that
disclosure to authorities is allowed and does not limit it to
authorities with COVID-19-related responsibilities or functions. The G2G PASS
application page states that WA Police has to, by law, keep information, even
after the completion of quarantine or isolation—and even after deletion
of the G2G PASS app from an individual's app. Individuals are required to consent to this. This information is
stated publicly on the wa.gov.au G2G PASS FAQ page, in the G2G PASS
privacy policy and the G2G PASS terms of service.
The Western Australia Police Force
advises that there is no access to the G2G PASS information for Tasmania. Information to WA's G2G PASS has
been sought on 14 occasions and provided on 13 occasions. There has been
media reporting about the important role border regulation and G2G PASS data
have played in intercepting drugs being trafficked into WA. Western Australia's
G2G arrangements also reflect those used by the commonwealth government, as
administered by the commonwealth law enforcement agency the Australian Border
Force for overseas passengers entering Australia. The Australian Border Force
publishes information regarding its use of movement records including that
information sharing arrangements for law enforcement purposes.