Highly sensitive court data accessed by foreign entities in Australia

Highly Sensitive Court Data Accessed by Foreign Entities

An ABC investigation revealed that highly sensitive Australian court files have been accessed by foreign actors in breach of federal law and contractual obligations. VIQ Solutions, a Canadian-based company responsible for transcribing court cases, subcontracted e24 Technologies from India without informing courts, leading to unauthorized access. Workers raised concerns about offshore transcribers but were dismissed or faced repercussions.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court handles cases involving domestic violence and child abuse allegations. Greens Senator David Shoebridge called this a national security risk due to sensitive evidence potentially falling into the wrong hands. VIQ reviewed its processes after ABC's findings, but staff reported issues with poor transcript quality and management resistance to concerns.