Client Scenarios (COVIDSafe App)

These are hypothetical questions that clients may have about their rights and obligations under the COVIDSafe Act that the intermediary lawyers could use our system to answer.

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Offences

(1) Martin

(1) Martin went to her favourite cafe and was turned away by a staff member because she did not have the COVIDSafe app downloaded on her phone. She is furious about the poor service. Karen uses the system to find out what she can do about the staff member's conduct.

• Outcome: The staff member has likely committed an offence under s 94H(2).

(2) Ivan

(2) Ivan’s boss threatened to leave him off next week’s work roster if he doesn’t download the COVIDSafe app before his next shift. He does not want to download the app because he is concerned about his privacy. Ivan uses the system to find out whether his boss is allowed to do this.

• Outcome: Ivan’s boss has likely committed an offence under s 94H(2).

(3) Karen

(3) Karen, a computer science student, borrowed his friend’s phone. To practice what he learned at university, and as a practical joke, he decrypted the COVID app data that was encrypted on his friend’s phone. Martin's conscience later gets the better of him, and he uses the system to find out whether his ‘practical joke’ was illegal.

• Outcome: Martin has likely committed an offence under s 94G.

(4) Nina

(4) Nina works for a state health authority. Her parents, who live overseas, are very concerned about how poorly Australia is managing the COVID-19 situation. To reassure them that there are not many active cases where she lives and that she is safe from the virus, she disclosed COVID app data from the National COVIDSafe Data Store. Nina becomes worried that this will cost her her job, so she uses the system to find out whether she committed an offence by doing so.

• Outcome: Nina has likely committed an offence under s 94F(2).

(5) Nina's parents

(5) Nina’s parents are not very tech-savvy and accidentally saved the COVID app data that Nina sent them to a database in their country. When Nina finds out, she uses the system to find out whether her parents have inadvertently committed an offence.

• Outcome: Nina's parents have likely committed an offence under s 94F(1).

(6) Edward

(6) Edward used COVID system data for his university assignment comparing national policy approaches to the pandemic around the world. His lecturer reads the assignment and is concerned about where and how Edward obtained the data, and whether people are allowed to use COVID system data for this purpose, so he uses the system to find out.

• Outcome: Edward has likely committed an offence under s 94D

(7) Sejeong

(7) Sejeong has borrowed her friend Mike’s old phone after having dropped hers into the toilet. She receives a notification from the COVIDSafe app that Mike had previously installed onto the phone in his name. The notification asks for permission to upload COVID app data to the National COVIDSafe Data Store. Sejeong agrees to the upload as she knows that Mike had recently tested positive for COVID-19. Mike finds out about this and is livid. He uses the system to find out whether Sejeong has done anything wrong.

• Outcome: Sejeong has likely committed an offence under s 94E.

General Obligations

(8) Ellie

(8) Ellie, who has resided in NSW since the start of the pandemic, received COVID app data of somebody residing in the Northern Territory who she had never met or heard of. Ellie found this funny and took a screenshot, which she also saved on her laptop. A month later, she showed the screenshot to her friend, who warned her that this may not have been the right thing to do. Ellie is now concerned that she may has done something illegal and consults the system for guidance.

• Outcome: Ellie likely breached her obligation under s 94M.