NSW and federal law enforcement agencies have been given the power to access the travel history and home addresses of hundreds of thousands of commuters using the new Opal card.
Without a warrant, agencies including the police, Centrelink, the Taxation Office and even local councils have the ability to request access to personal information kept on databases linked to the card when investigating crimes like murders, welfare fraud, tax evasion or even littering.
Already in Queensland and Victoria, authorities have asked transport departments for access to records kept on smartcard systems for their investigations.
Since 2006, Queensland Go Card smartcards have been accessed 10,966 times. The majority of requests were made by police with most approved.
NSW Police have yet to exercise the powers given to them as the new Opal card system continues to be rolled out across the transport network.
But they now have the power to follow the digital footprint for every train, bus or ferry journey taken by Opal card users.
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You wouldn't want that sort of information to fall into the wrong hands, would you?
