Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: All have identity and credit check platforms - used by financial service providers such as Afterpay, Zip and banks against fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing - but also run marketing operations that sell detailed data to businesses in Australia and around the world. Experian describes itself as "a leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to our clients". It says it will help customers "acquire more prospects that fit your most profitable customer profile, gain data-driven insights and leverage analytics and insights for deeper audience intelligence". A spokesman said Experian does not use electoral roll data for marketing purposes in full compliance with the privacy act.

ACXIOM Australia, which has renamed itself as "Live Ramp,"said in a note to clients last year that it was realigning its business. "We are looking forward to empowering our clients to harness the benefits of people-based marketing, and as a result, better serving the evolving needs of the consumer," it said. It has not responded to multiple written requests for comment, the phone number at its Australian head office in Barangaroo has been disconnected and an auto-reply email said "data monetisation glory awaits!" Equifax, which is used by Afterpay buy-now-pay later rival Zip to run credit checks on hundreds of thousands of customers across shops such as Rebel, Fantastic Furniture and Best & Less, was pursued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for misleading, unconscionable and deceptive conduct last year. Federal Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations Kelly O'Dwyer on Thursday. Credit:AAP

It paid a $3.5 million fine in October after the Federal Court found it charged customers to receive their credit reports when they were available online for free. In 2017, it had the records of 145.5 million - 99 per cent of its US user base - hacked in a breach described by the US House of Representatives committee as "entirely preventable". A spokeswoman for the company, listed as a prescribed authority under its former name of Veda, said it had specific confidentiality, security and statutory obligations to maintain the security of its information, and "treats the safeguarding of data with the utmost priority". Global Data, which has not responded to a request for comment, says on its website that its marketing platform Quester will help clients understand their customer quickly and easily. Loading "Harnessing the power of the most complete and up-to-date consumer data available in Australia, our data-driven marketing expertise will empower you to interact accurately with your audience every time."

Debt-collector turned digital marketing agency Illion accesses the database through its wholly owned subsidiary Perceptive Communications. It boasts that it "leverages its consumer and commercial credit registries, data on over 24 million individuals and over 2 million commercial entities, to provide end-to-end customer management solutions to clients in the financial services, telecommunications, utilities and government sectors". But a spokeswoman said the "electoral roll is never used, or sold, by Illion for marketing purposes". The Australian Electoral Commission would not comment on whether the use of the data, which contains the names and addresses of all 16 million voters, was appropriate as the anti-terrorism and money-laundering legislation was administered by the Attorney-General's Department. The Attorney-General's Department said Home Affairs was responsible for the legislation. Home Affairs said “access to the Australian Electoral Roll is a matter for the Australian Electoral Commission,” and that financial services were required to detect money laundering and terrorism financing by verifying a name and address. Using electoral data for commercial purposes attracts a fine of up to 1000 penalty units - equivalent to $210,000 - according to the Australian Electoral Commission website. The AEC has strict restrictions on who can access the data, including members of Parliament, political parties, approved medical researchers, and public health programs. It can only be accessed by an individual, in person, at an AEC office terminal.

Asked about the revelations on Thursday, Jobs Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said electoral data needed to be kept secure. "It should be use for the appropriate and proper purposes," she said. "We will be sent to a federal election this year and we want to be sure that data is strong because that is fundamental to our democracy." Labor MP Andrew Giles said the reports were worrying. "This is really concerning, and so is the absence of any response from the government to very serious allegations," he said. You can contact the author via the encrypted messaging app Signal on +61411463731