MyGov Could Be Compromising the Whereabouts of Domestic Abuse Victims

Victims of domestic violence have been warned that their abusive partners could be using myGov to track them down. A group of doctors have reportedly voiced fears that abusers could source updated addresses and other sensitive information via the Federal Government portal—especially if they have access to their children’s accounts.

Staff at the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women have issued an email warning parents to deactivate any accounts that may put them at risk, and pass on that advice to others, the ABC reports.

"With this platform there is no way to protect addresses at this stage," the email stated. "It is encouraged for parents fleeing violence to deactivate their account to reduce the ability to track their new address."

Children aged 14 years and over can have their own myGov accounts, allowing them to access government services such as Centrelink, Medicare and the Australian Taxation Office, and to view current and past documents. For a parent looking to determine the whereabouts of their child or ex-partner, this information could be instrumental.

These concerns were raised during discussions over the potential security risks involved in the Government’s new My Health Record scheme. Pitched as “an online summary of your key health information… all in one place”, the scheme has previously been criticised by women’s agencies for the way in which it could potentially put victims of domestic violence at risk—especially through its links to myGov.

“There can be some quite catastrophic consequences if these concerns are not taken into account by policymakers,” Women’s Legal Service chief executive Angela Lynch told the Brisbane Times. “It means that if an abusive partner has a victim's log-in they can already get a range of details through that MyGov website. The victim’s address, her Centrelink details and that sort of thing.”

Professor Annabel Taylor from the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research explained that perpetrators of domestic abuse will often do whatever they have to and go to extreme lengths to track down their partner or ex-partner. Professor Taylor described this as an “intense desire to control or exert power over the other partner”. And with security loopholes such as myGov giving those perpetrators access to vital information about their victims, she warned that the consequences could be fatal.

"We've had a series of really tragic deaths in Australia in the last fortnight and we've all got to be really concerned about the access that a perpetrator may have in terms of the private information and location of the victim," she said. "We're talking about lethal violence here."