A settlement is expected to be reached in a class action brought against the NSW Ambulance Service relating to sensitive health and personal information that was illegally sold by a contractor. Centennial Lawyers filed a class action in the Supreme Court of NSW on 20 November 2017 on behalf of all NSW Ambulance 130 employees and contractors whose sensitive health and personal information was inadvertently accessed between 14 January 2013 and 1 February 2013. A contractor was given access to NSW Ambulance Service’s records and database, he then collected and sold this information and, in 2016, was found guilty of unlawfully disclosing the information. The ABC reported at the time that a third party, “who paid thousands of dollars for the data, was a group of injury lawyers”. Centennial Lawyers issued a statement saying the case has been a long journey for lead plaintiff, Tracy Evans, and the other staff who had theirworkers compensation files, staff and medical records accessed by a NSW Ambulance contractor. The workers compensation records contained highly sensitive medical and, in some cases, mental health information about on-duty NSW paramedics. “Employers have a duty of confidence to their employees and they must take adequate steps to protect their employee records and this case highlights the damage that can be done if data security is breached,” principal solicitor ofCentennial LawyersGeorge Newhousesaid. “While there have been many successful data breach class actions in the US and Canada such as those against Yahoo, Wendy’s and Target, there have been none concluded in Australia.” A NSW Ambulance spokesperson told CIO Australiain a statement that the well-being of its staff, and the security of their personal information, is of paramount importance to NSW Ambulance. “NSW Ambulance reported the rogue actions of former temporary contractor Malik to NSW Police and provided every assistance to law enforcement officers during the criminal investigation and prosecution in 2013. “NSW Ambulance is unable to comment on any ongoing civil litigation.” The court hearing is set for 4pm today at the Law Courts Building in Sydney. Related content brandpost Who’s paying your data integration tax? Reducing your data integration tax will get you one step closer to value—let’s start today. By Sandrine Ghosh Jun 05, 2023 4 mins Data Management feature 13 essential skills for accelerating digital transformation IT leaders too often find themselves behind on business-critical transformation efforts due to gaps in the technical, leadership, and business skills necessary to execute and drive change. By Stephanie Overby Jun 05, 2023 12 mins Digital Transformation IT Skills tip 3 things CIOs must do now to accurately hit net-zero targets More than a third of the world’s largest companies are making their net-zero targets public, yet nearly all will fail to hit them if they don’t double the pace of emissions reduction by 2030. This puts leading executives, CIOs in particul By Diana Bersohn and Mauricio Bermudez-Neubauer Jun 05, 2023 5 mins CIO Accenture Emerging Technology case study Merck Life Sciences banks on RPA to streamline regulatory compliance Automated bots assisted in compliance, thereby enabling the company to increase revenue and save precious human hours, freeing up staff for higher-level tasks. By Yashvendra Singh Jun 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation Robotic Process Automation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe