Navigating Privacy Issues Involving Contact Tracing Data: A Checklist For Australian Businesses

It has become commonplace during the COVID-19 lockdown phase for businesses to require contact tracing information from visitors to their premises. Contact tracing is "a way of slowing the spread of infections by identifying people who have been in contact with an infected person"¹.

Information sought by businesses from visitors may involve just a name and contact details, or it might extend to temperature checks or particulars of symptoms which have become synonymous with the coronavirus.

Whilst many businesses have been conscientious in procuring this information, not all may be aware of their rights and obligations in handling that information once collected.

This paper focusses on the extent to which privacy restraints apply to contact tracing information collected by organisations in the private sector. A surprising number of factors require consideration.