No checks done on government cabinets

An independent review has found no checks were made on government cabinets, containing some secret documents, before they were sold.

BEHIND THE CABINET DOCUMENT BREACH:

* About 300 documents collated between mid-2013 and mid-2014 were in "secure containers" held within the Cabinet Division of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

* Half of the documents were categorised "protected" or below, while some were national security classified material. They were not official cabinet records, but related mainly to freedom of information requests.

* Following the Cabinet Division accommodation move in January 2016 eight secure containers were identified as surplus and returned to Corporate Division.

* None of the containers were checked to ensure they no longer held any documents.

* Two containers which were missing keys were disposed of without being opened or checked.

* New checks have been put in place including a register of containers, unique numbers for each container and protocols for ensuring drawers are searched.


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Source: AAP



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