State-based QR check-in systems became a   more effective tool for contact tracing, with a Service NSW spokesperson confirming that check-in numbers remained high despite changed requirements; there were more than 750,000 check-ins in the state during July this year.

According to the Albanese government, the last upload of data to the national COVIDSafe data store was in May 2021, and there has been no access to the data store by state authorities since January 2022.

And yet, the COVIDSafe app continued to operate at an estimated cost to taxpayers of up to $75,000 a month. The app cost more than $10 million in development, $7 million in advertising and marketing, $2.1 million in upkeep and more than $2 million in staff.

In the select committee on COVID-19’s final report in April this year, the app was described as a costly failure.

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“By not recognising the app’s faults, or seeking to fix the app, the government has continued to oversee an application which is not fit for its intended purpose, has cost millions of dollars, and offered limited public value,” the report said.

“The committee recommends that the Australian government cease any further expenditure of public funds on the failed COVIDSafe application.”

The government said that, following the app’s deletion, no data from COVIDSafe would be retained.

With Mary Ward and Ben Grubb

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