Federal government could pay millions in compensation over asylum seeker data breach

An immigration department data breach meant the details of almost 10,000 asylum seekers, more than a quarter of whom were children, were accessed across the world. Photograph: Reuters

The Australian government may be liable for tens of millions of dollars in compensation to asylum seekers after it posted their personal details online while they were in immigration detention.

The mass data breach, discovered by Guardian Australia in 2014, resulted in information being used, in some cases, to allegedly threaten asylum seekers, or persecute and even jail their family members.