As a former senior police inspector investigating crime, Greg was devastated to be the subject of surveillance after he made an insurance claim for a workplace injury.
Greg, 45, has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and has been unable to work since 2010 when he was based in the NSW town of Moree.
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When his then lawyer John Cox sent him a copy of an insurance company audit of his Facebook account, which is on the highest security settings, he felt ashamed and "made to feel like a criminal" after a long and distinguished career.
"I was devastated. I was gutted when I found out about it," said Greg, who asked that his surname not be used in this story.
"In my entire career, I had done nothing wrong. I've never even had a parking ticket. All I've done is my job.
"I was a high-ranking police officer and then I had people trawling my Facebook account and making these wild deductions based on what I'd clicked on."
John Cox, a Sydney lawyer who specialises in personal injury cases, claims workplace injury insurer Employers Mutual Limited is acting illegally in the way it conducts its investigations.
In a submission to a NSW parliamentary review of the workers compensation scheme, Mr Cox says EML's investigations and surveillance have adversely impacted on the mental health of claimants and had contributed to suicides.
![Former police officer Greg is involved in a battle with his insurer and NSW Police for compensation for post traumatic ...](/web/20161108100206im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/8/x/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gshuoc.png/1478429121631.jpg)
"It is my submission that investigators retained by EML often break the law and seem to have little consideration or understanding of the relevant law," Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox, who will give evidence to the inquiry on Monday, asserts that desktop investigations by EML on NSW Police claimants were not only illegal, but a significant breach of privacy that could exacerbate psychological illness including trauma.
![A former senior police inspector had his Facebook account trawled.](/web/20161108100206im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/e/b/7/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gshuoc.png/1478429121631.jpg)
"Whatever their legal status, the process involved is so excessive, heavy-handed and intrusive, that it is one that neither EML nor the New South Wales Police Force should be engaged in," he said.
Despite having the highest security settings on his Facebook account, a copy of the desktop investigation EML commissioned shows the search "identified and preserved about 13,427 items of electronically stored information relating to the claimant [Greg]".
![Illustration: Matt Golding.](/web/20161108100206im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/i/v/g/4/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gshuoc.png/1478476855532.jpg)
The report notes that the "claimant appears to have privacy settings to a moderate or high level".
Mr Cox's submission said EML's investigation was a breach of Section 308H of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) against unauthorised access to or modification of restricted data held in a computer. Restricted data is defined as information "to which access is restricted by an access control system".
Section 8 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) says a public sector agency must not collect personal information by any unlawful means.
Section 14 of the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) makes it an offence to communicate and publish information from the use of a data surveillance device.
The EML report published multiple pages of Greg's Facebook site and includes commentary on postings.
Greg said he had never posted his photograph on his Facebook because of his job as a police inspector. He dismissed as "ridiculous" the investigator's comments that Greg's smoking monkey avatar "appears to be an attempt at humour and to thwart surveillance".
The report records bands Greg appears to follow and makes observations about his personal taste and interests in "golf, fitness and modern houses" as suggested by "likes and comments". The investigation report says: "The claimant's interest in drama is at the more sophisticated end of popular culture as indicated by this post" about the ABC TV drama Brides of Christ.
University of NSW Professor of Law, Alex Steel, did not comment on the specific facts of the case, but said generally, the offence of unauthorised access to personal data protected by access controls like passwords was based on the lack of authorisation, regardless of intention.
"It doesn't matter what your intention is in accessing the page, as long as you are doing it without the authorisation of the person whose data it is, then it is a breach," he said.
"You couldn't have any claim of right based on investigating wrongdoing."
A NSW Police spokeswoman said it did not conduct desktop surveillance. "Desktop surveillance is utilised within the insurance industry," she said.
Fairfax Media contacted EML but it said it "will decline comment".
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