VIQ Solutions and your data: What Australians need to know

You have probably never heard of VIQ Solutions. But if you have appeared in a Federal, State or Family Court, called a government department, or been involved in any kind of formal legal or administrative proceeding, there is a strong chance the company has recorded you. And your data may have been breached.

VIQ Solutions, formerly known as Auscript, is a Canadian-based company that held contracts to provide digital recordings and transcription services across Australia. The company recorded every word you said in court and then charged you for the privilege of accessing that information.

In early 2026, VIQ Solutions started popping up in headlines for all the wrong reasons and now the company’s Australian operations are winding down entirely. This leaves thousands of Australians with serious questions about what happened to their data and whether their transcripts are accurate or secure.

How far VIQ Solutions reached

The company had a 35-year relationship with the Federal Court and 25 years with the New South Wales courts. They were also involved in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFOA), recording family and domestic violence, child custody and family breakdown cases, as well as courts and tribunals in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the South Australian Employment Tribunal.

Reports have also emerged that at least 13 government agencies had worked with VIQ Solutions since 2019. These include the Department of Defence, Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office and the Attorney-General's Department. The full scope of those relationships, and what recordings or transcriptions were involved, has not been publicly confirmed.

Anthony Whealy KC, former NSW Court of Appeals judge and chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, told the ABC it was a very worrying development. “It’s important we get a full picture of what services have been provided by VIQ to the various government agencies,” he said.

Even without knowing the full scale of their reach, it is clear VIQ Solutions had access to sensitive information, including witness statements, evidence from covert police operations, family law proceedings involving children and domestic violence, and the personal details of Australians often at their most vulnerable.

The offshore scandal

In February 2026, an ABC investigation revealed that VIQ Solutions had subcontracted a portion of its transcription work to India-based e24 Technologies, which specialises in automated voice-to-text technology. This was in direct breach of VIQ Solutions’ Commonwealth contract, which prohibited the offshoring of data.

Internal documents showed e24 staff with Indian email addresses accessing thousands of court files. VIQ staff in Australia had raised concerns about this as early as August 2025 but management dismissed them as “irrelevant” and were told to stop spreading rumours.

VIQ employees in Australia working on court transcripts were required to complete national security checks and sign a confidentiality agreement before starting work.

They also noted that e24 workers appeared to be completing transcripts at a speed that wasn’t humanly possible, and that the work was riddled with errors, suggesting a reliance on automated voice-to-text tools. VIQ staff then had to quietly fix those mistakes. One worker told the ABC they had started having anxiety attacks worrying about what would happen to such sensitive information.

In a memo seen by the ABC, VIQ Solutions management disputed the location of e24 workers, saying they were based in Sydney. The internal documents say otherwise, as does evidence of access to documents outside Australian business hours.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who had been in touch with multiple whistleblowers, said the situation was a national security risk. “Incredibly sensitive evidence from organisations like ASIO, the Australian Federal Police, is given in private court because it could be addressing links to international criminal organisations, potential foreign interference in our country,” he said.

The collapse of VIQ Solutions

Within weeks of the ABC investigation, VIQ Solutions placed its Australian division into voluntary administration. In June, VIQ confirmed the sale or recapitalisation of the Australian arm, which encompassed five entities, had been unsuccessful and that it would wind down. The Federal Court announced that transcript orders could be placed with VIQ until 30 June 2026, after which new arrangements would be set up.

During Senate estimate hearings, the Federal Court acknowledged that it had been receiving inconsistent information from VIQ Solutions about the scale of the breach. The number of affected files shifted from about 170 to 136 in the Family Court alone.

Senator Shoebridge pointed out that figures being provided to the courts were coming from VIQ, which it already proved to be unreliable.

The Attorney-General Department contacted the Australian Cyber Security Centre when it was notified of the breach, with investigations ongoing across multiple jurisdictions.

Could you be affected?

Without clarity around the scale and reach of the breach, it is difficult to determine who has been affected and when. However, you may have been affected if you:

• • Have called a government department or agency and been advised that your call may be recorded
  • Have appeared as a party, witness or representative in court proceedings at any point in the last few years
  • Have been involved in proceedings before an employment tribunal in South Australia, or courts in NSW, Queensland, Victoria or Western Australia
  • Have ordered or paid for a court transcript in Australia and experienced delays, errors, missing content or high costs
  • Are a legal professional who has received a transcript you believe contains errors or omissions

If you have called a government agency and heard a message advising that your call may be recorded, that recording may have been held internally, may have been processed by another provider, or may have been handled by VIQ Solutions. We do not have a full picture, which is why many more questions need to be asked and answered.

How you can help get answers

Handle My Complaint has heard from people who have experienced problems connected to VIQ Solutions, including delayed or missing transcripts, transcripts with errors or missing passages, and difficulties getting information corrected. We are also hearing from people who just want to know whether their information is being accessed, by who and for what purpose.

We believe it is important to build a clear picture of the real-world impact of this scandal. On individuals, on legal proceedings and on the trust in Australia’s court system. The more experiences we can document, the better placed to push for transparency, accountability and answers from the companies and government agencies involved.