The spreadsheet included 137 records related to sensitive claims, which deal with sexual abuse and assault injuries, according to a report by the New Zealand Herald.
“On 1 August last year, one of our Auckland staff included amongst other information in an email to a client, a spreadsheet containing information pertaining to other clients. Details in the spreadsheet related to ACC claims that had been under review, and included client names, claim numbers and branches involved," the ACC said in a statement.
In December, the client advised ACC that they had received the information on other clients. The ACC requested that the information be returned and any copies held by the client be destroyed.
“I can now confirm that the information has been destroyed, and is no longer on the hard drive of the computer of the client who received it. Our next task is to contact each of the clients affected, to advise them of the breach and confirm that their information is now protected”, said Ralph Stewart, the chief executive of ACC.