06:52

One of two Senate committees examining the My Health Record has delivered a report calling on the government to extend the opt-out period for a further 12 months and to legislate that the records “cannot be accessed for employment or insurance purposes”.

It also wants the My Health Record law strengthened so that data cannot be used for commercial purposes.

The community affairs references committee has a Labor-Greens majority, which explains why it has gone further in calling for safeguards than the legislation committee, which simply recommended that the Senate pass the government’s bill to ensure police cannot access records without a warrant and other refinements.

Last Friday Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King reiterated that Labor supports the electronic health record but called for “a range of deficiencies” to be addressed before it is rolled out to all Australians (who have not opted out).



King announced Labor’s intention to push amendments to ensure private health insurers “can never access My Health Records, including de-identified data”, to protect employees’ right to privacy and strengthen safeguards in domestic violence situations.