The prime minister, Tony Abbott, says a data breach that revealed the personal details of almost 10,000 people in immigration detention in Australia “shouldn’t have happened”.



“It was an error. It was wrong. It shouldn’t have happened,” Abbott said on Thursday.



He continued: “It will be investigated, we’ll get to the bottom of it and it won’t happen again.”



On Wednesday Guardian Australia revealed that the Immigration Department had inadvertently published the data, which contains the full names, dates of birth, nationalities and other details of a third of all asylum seekers in Australia, in a public, downloadable document on its website.



Immigration minister Scott Morrison described the breach as an “unacceptable incident”.



Morrison said he had told the Immigration Department secretary, Martin Bowles, to investigate the matter and had already contracted an independent audit firm, KPMG, to review the breach. An interim report is due next week.



“The information was never intended to be in the public domain,” Morrison said in a statement.



“I am advised the department has ensured all possible channels to access this information are closed, including Google and other search engines.



“This is a serious breach of privacy by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. I have received a brief on this matter and have sought assurances that this will not occur again.”

In a later interview with ABC news, Morrison said he had overall responsibility for the breach and that “when these things occur even when obviously you don’t have direct operational control over these issues you have to make sure they’re addressed”.



Earlier on Wednesday the privacy commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, also initiated an investigation into how the breach occurred and said the department had assured his office the data was no longer available.



“This is a serious incident and I will be conducting an investigation into how it occurred. As part of this investigation, the department has undertaken to provide me with a detailed report into the incident,” Pilgrim said.



“Further, the OAIC [Office of the Australian Information Commissioner] will be working with the department to make sure they are fully aware of their privacy obligations and to ensure that incidents of this nature will not be repeated.”



Morrison said he welcomed the review.



Labor’s immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, said he was “deeply concerned” about what he described as “one of the most significant breaches of privacy in Australian history”.



Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young also said on Monday the release of the information should be taken into account in assessing the claims of asylum seekers named.



Morrison cautioned against speculation on whether the breach would have any impact on asylum claims and said it was a matter for individual review officers.



“I don’t think anyone should jump to any conclusions there, I note that some are putting that issue forward in an advocacy sense,” he told ABC news.



“Refugee claims and assessments are done individually and in isolation to each and every case specific case.



“If matters like this impact on that then that reviewer will make that call at that time, and it’s not for me or anyone else to instruct or seek to influence or cajole in any way that decision.”

