A mail house error has seen confidential information on individual workers’ injuries and cost of treatment sent to more than 2000 businesses, according to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).
Businesses around New Zealand are provided with a report on injuries that occurred in their workplace by ACC.
The report comes in two parts, a cover sheet and an attachment which includes the name of the individual, the type of injury they sustained, and the cost of treatment to date.
Such a report is received by around 15,000 businesses each month.
An external mail house is used for a mail out of this size, ACC said this evening, which is in line with standard practice in public and private sectors.
The reports were collated and sent by the mail house, who had no involvement with the individual data in the reports.
"While the mail house does have measures to ensure that the right attachment goes with the right cover letter, unfortunately a problem has occurred with the January mail-out. The reports have not been collated correctly by the mail house and some 2000 businesses will have received information intended for other organisations, including private information," ACC general manager Keith McLea said.
Having learnt of the problem today, ACC said it was attempting to retrieve the reports and send them to the correct businesses.
“We have also requested a full investigation be done by the mail house and that they review their processes to ensure that this doesn't happen again. We have also contacted the Privacy Commissioner to advise what has happened."
ACC has apologised to individuals and businesses affected by the error, saying it was disappointed in the privacy breach.
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