澳大利亚维多利亚州议会法律和社会问题委员会在发布一份邪教和极端组织调查最终报告时，意外泄露了330个提交人的电子邮件地址[1]。这批受影响人士包括邪教幸存者，其中291份书面提交中有172份原本标记为"不公开姓名"或"保密"[1]。
邪教幸存者倡导者Alex Belle对此感到沮丧，表示"他们的电子邮件地址现在可能被虐待者知道"[1]。许多幸存者仍有家庭成员涉及高度控制的组织，使他们特别容易遭受安全威胁[1]。幸存者倡导团体因此收到了大量恐慌信息和电话[1]。
委员会主席Ella George称这是"不可接受的隐私泄露"，并确认这是一起行政错误[1]。委员会已表示歉意，并将进行全面审查[1]。该调查最终报告包含39项建议，其中包括在群体设置中禁止胁迫性控制[1]。
Victoria's parliament committee investigating cults and extreme organisations has inadvertently compromised the privacy of hundreds of inquiry participants by disclosing 330 email addresses in its final report released on 29 July 2026 [1]. Among the 291 written submissions received, 172 were marked as confidential or requested anonymity, yet their contact details became publicly visible [1]. The breach has sparked urgent safety concerns, particularly for cult survivors whose family members remain involved in high-control organisations [1].
The accidental disclosure represents what committee chair Ella George characterised as an "unacceptable privacy breach" resulting from administrative error [1]. Cult survivor advocate Alex Belle expressed the gravity of the situation, stating that survivors' email addresses "could now be known by abusers, which is extremely distressing" [1]. Following the incident, survivor advocacy groups have been inundated with panic calls and messages [1]. George has apologised for the failure and committed to conducting a comprehensive review [1].
Despite the privacy lapse, the inquiry's final report contains 39 recommendations addressing cult-related harms, including a proposal to ban coercive control within group settings [1].