Class Action Launched Against Medibank Following 2022 Data Breach

Slater and Gordan Lawyers have issued class action against Medicare on behalf of its customers whose information was compromised and published on the internet in the October 2022 data breach.

The class action is also on behalf of Medibank’s subsidiary Australian Health Management (ahm) as well as customers of Medibank’s travel insurance products. Impacted children whose information was affected are also in the class, as are authorised representatives and providers.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:

Last year, over 9.5 million Medibank customers data of some sort were stolen and progressively released on the internet.

Customers’ private information including about those who were diagnosed with HIV, had received treatment for drug and alcohol addiction and mental health illness was released in addition to person details such as name, birth date, addressed and phone numbers.

Slater and Gordan Class Actions Practice Group Leader, Ben Hardwick, described the breach as “one of the most serious in Australia’s history.”

“For hundreds and thousands of Medibank and ahm customers who were caught up in this data breach, their sensitive health information was exposed on the internet for all to see,” he said.

“And for millions more, information critical to their data and personal security was also compromised.

“Medibank should have had adequate measures in place to prevent all of this, yet they don’t.”

The lead applicant, who wished to stay anonymous to prevent his information further compromised, said after seeing that ahm was owned by Medibank when he joined, he assumed and trusted that meant everything was in check,

“I feel really exposed and unsettled knowing some personal information of mine is out there, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Someone could open an account or take out a line of credit in my name.”

Slater and Gordon is also representing customers who were affected by the Optus data breach.

Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia's fastest-growing news podcast on Listnr today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.