In February 2014, a routine report released on the department's website unintentionally enabled access to some personal information about people who were in immigration detention in Australia on 31 January 2014. This information was accessible online for only a short period of time before it was removed from the website.
If you were not in immigration detention in Australia on 31 January 2014 you are not affected.
The information was never intended to be in the public domain. It was not visible as part of the report, and was not easily accessible.
The department has written to those affected by the incident to provide more detail on how the incident occurred, the information that was accessible and how any implications for them will be considered as part of the department's normal processes.
If you have not received the letter, you should inform the department as soon as possible of your current address so that you do receive it.
The department commissioned KPMG to independently review the circumstances of the breach and provide advice on ways to stop such a breach from happening again.
KPMG Abridged Report was presented to the department on 21 May 2014.
The department has taken action to implement the recommendations in that report and ensure that this sort of incident does not happen again. The department deeply regrets inadvertently allowing unauthorised access to personal information.
