PoliticalClaims.au

### Trial Phase and Initial Breaches

The trial phase of My Health Record ran from January 2016 in Far North Queensland and NSW Nepean Blue Mountains, involving approximately 1 million participants [1].

The claim references "9 security breaches" during the trial.

According to available records, there were **35 breach notifications reported during the 2016-17 period**, which covered both the trial phase and the early rollout implementation [2].

The specific figure of "9" does not match documented records, though the existence of security breaches during this period is confirmed.

### The 42 Breaches Claim

The claim that "42 more security breaches happened within weeks of the system being rolled out nationally" is partially accurate but significantly misleading in its timeframe.

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) reported 42 data breaches between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018 [2].

However, this 12-month period does not represent "within weeks" of the October 15, 2018 national rollout to opt-out; rather, many of these breaches occurred before the system-wide changeover.

The rollout commenced gradually, and the 12-month timeframe covers a broader period than suggested by the claim [3].

### Nature of Reported Breaches

Critically, the ADHA explicitly stated **"There have been no purposeful or malicious attacks compromising the integrity or security of the My Health Record system"** [2].

Of the 42 reported breaches during this period: - 17 involved intertwined records (two or more people using the same Medicare record) - 22 involved attempted Medicare fraud (unauthorized claims appearing in records) - 3 were reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) [2] These were primarily administrative and fraud-related issues rather than security breaches in the traditional sense (unauthorized system access, data exfiltration, etc.).

### Opt-Out System Implementation

The claim accurately states that the system was converted to opt-out rather than opt-in.

The Coalition government changed the My Health Record from an opt-in model (inherited from Labor's original Personal Controlled Electronic Health Record system) to opt-out on October 15, 2018 [4].

By September 2018, approximately 900,000 Australians had already opted out of the system [4].

### Domestic Violence and Stalker Safety Concerns

The claim's reference to "safety concerns about how abusive stalkers can use it" is a legitimate and well-documented concern.

Clinical documents in My Health Record may contain healthcare provider addresses and location information that could be misused by domestic violence perpetrators [5].