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Bondi cosmetic clinic leaks naked photos of clients, personal details in privacy breach, report

A Bondi cosmetic surgery clinic has leaked confidential details about clients in an enormous breach of privacy.

News Corp reports more than 500 female clients have been affected dating back to 2014 with names, home addresses, Medicare numbers and medical history posted online by The Cosmetic Institute in Bondi Junction.

Intimate photos in swimwear were also posted with teens are among those affected.

The website was automatically storing naked photos and pre-surgery medical forms clients were required to submit online.

'Before and after' pics were among those leaked. Source: The Cosmetic Institute
'Before and after' pics were among those leaked. Source: The Cosmetic Institute

The victims of the online leak told the Daily Telegraph they felt “violated” after a Queensland doctor noticed the breach and found the data could be accessed by anyone.

The clinic’s owner Andrew Gill said the leak was due to a fault with the website and it was taken down as soon as the issue was discovered.

“Patient confidentiality is the most important thing for us and we are trying to understand how this information was released,” Mr Gill said.
“We have shut down all of our sources of information through our website and we use a digital agency which manages our website for us. Clearly we are very concerned and we are working to see what has happened.”

Source: AAP
Source: AAP

It’s not the first time The Cosmetic Institute has found itself in the headlines.

In 2015, the Health Care Complaints Commission found six patients had suffered from seizures and cardiac arrest during a review of the clinic’s operations.

No findings were made.

A NSW Health spokesman said the Government was not responsible for how the clinic handles the management of its client’s records.

But the NSW Information and Privacy Commission is urging women to call a hotline if they believe their details may have been leaked.

Source: The Cosmetic Institute
Source: The Cosmetic Institute