A long-awaited report on the government’s COVIDSafe app has been released – but findings about its effectiveness have been redacted

The federal government’s report has removed any parts related to the effectiveness of the contact tracing app.

This year, COVIDSafe has not identified any close contacts despite major outbreaks in NSW, Victoria and smaller outbreaks in other areas of the country.

The report, which was released this week following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Canberra Times, has redacted the parts related to its effectiveness and comes nearly a year after the government was required to release it.

Legislation enshrining privacy protections around the app requires the Department of Health to report on the operation and effectiveness of the app and the national database every six months.

Despite this, there have been 17 sitting days since the report was completed and it has not been released — a contravention of the government’s legislative requirements.

The government paid private contractors around $10 million for work on the app, which is still costing $60,000 per month to continue running.

Last year the Department of Health paid global research firm Abt Associates nearly $250,000 to complete the first of the six-monthly reports, covering April to October 2020.

https://www.*.com.au/covidsafe-app-report-redacted-content



This government is an absolute disgrace. Have they done anything right? Anything at all?