OAIC closes VIQ Solutions inquiry after offshore subcontractor staff accessed court recordings
Three employees of an India-based subcontractor reached the recordings outside the courts' contracts. The OAIC weighed what its enquiries established and the steps the affected courts took to preserve privacy. With VIQ Solutions in liquidation, it does not consider further regulatory action proportional.
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What the OAIC found
The OAIC's enquiries found a limited number of Australian court hearing recordings were accessed by 3 employees of an India-based subcontractor providing transcription services. The extent of access was limited by duration, the number of transcripts and the employees with access.
The courts' contractual arrangements were privacy preserving, and the access was granted outside them. VIQ Solutions did not notify the relevant Commonwealth agencies before entering voluntary administration in March 2026.
Why the outcome matters to a regulated business
The Commissioner called it an incident of considerable public concern. VIQ Solutions served Australian courts and other organisations, and the subcontractor's access ran from September 2025 to February 2026. The OAIC published the outcome to help APP entities understand privacy obligations and put them into practice.
What to have ready before a breach
An entity that suspects an eligible data breach must take all reasonable steps to complete its assessment within 30 days.
- Each supplier contract, for terms that let a subcontractor or offshore staff open client recordings or files
- The supplier register, for every subcontractor and the country its staff work from
- Each contract's incident clause, for a duty to notify your firm of any incident
Sources
- PrimaryOAIC, OAIC closes preliminary inquiries into VIQ Solutions (4 November 2026)Retrieved 5 Nov 2026
- PrimaryAttorney-General's Department, Privacy Reform consultation paperRetrieved 29 Oct 2026
