Australia's spy agency could get its hands on the home address and travel history of NSW commuters using the state's Opal card, a civil liberty group warns.
The pay-as-you-go card, which can be used on trains, buses and ferries across the state, has been promoted by the Baird government as a way of saving travellers time and money.
But Stephen Blanks, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, says the Opal card's privacy policy allows personal information of cardholders to be forwarded to law enforcement agencies without the need for a warrant.
"It's entirely up to the internal decision making of Transport NSW to whether or not information requests (from law enforcement agencies) will be complied with," he told AAP on Tuesday.
"Typically, they'll comply with all requests."
According to Mr Blanks, those requests could even come from spy agency the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
"There's a very blurry line between ASIO's intelligence-gathering functions and its functions in gathering intelligence information in connection with prosecutions," he said.
"It's a very, very grey line indeed."
Mr Blanks urged the state government to bring forward its roll-out of "unregistered" Opal cards, which will let people purchase the card without entering their personal details.
Transport for NSW says the unregistered cards will be available in "coming months".
A spokesperson insists the department would only release cardholder details under "strict" rules.
"Customers can be assured Transport for NSW may only disclose information to a law enforcement agency that is necessary for law enforcement purposes, for the investigation of an offence, for the enforcement of criminal law or to assist in locating a missing person," the Transport for NSW spokesperson said.
"Protecting people's privacy is very important but if in some situations police need this data to help solve crime and protect the public then there is a responsibility to provide it."
Police have not yet requested any information from Transport NSW.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the Opal records would only be accessed for "legitimate law enforcement purposes".
He told reporters the information could be used to stop a crime, help catch a criminal or to assist police in finding a lost person.
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