Privacy regulator will not investigate collapsed court transcription firm VIQ despite 'reasonable basis for concern'

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has closed its preliminary inquiries into collapsed court transcription provider VIQ Solutions without a formal investigation. The regulator said there was "a reasonable basis for concern" that VIQ breached Australian Privacy Principle 11, which requires reasonable steps to protect personal information from unauthorised access. It judged an APP 8 breach, which covers overseas disclosure, to be unlikely.

The inquiries followed ABC reporting in February that Australian court transcription work had been handled by e24 Technologies in Chennai. The OAIC found five e24 employees in India were given access to VIQ's Australian platform between September 2025 and February 2026. Three accessed audio snippets from 93 matters across the Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. VIQ's Canadian parent "inadvertently" added the staff under its global transcription contract. The OAIC accepted that audio stayed on Australian servers and could not be downloaded, but said it "did not verify" whether those controls were followed in practice.

The OAIC said the incident was "materially smaller than media reporting suggested". An independent review for the family court found the snippets ran for five minutes, not the 15 VIQ had stated. Neither court had to notify affected litigants, and both assessed the risk of harm as low. Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said further resources could not be justified because VIQ is in liquidation and has ceased Australian operations.