Returning travellers made to hand over phones and passcodes to Australian Border Force

Sydney man says he doesn't know what officials looked at on his phone or what happens to his data

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A man who was forced to hand over his phone and passcode to Australian Border Force after returning to Sydney from holiday has labelled the tactic an absolute gross violation of privacy", as tech advocates call for transparency and stronger privacy protections for people's devices as they enter the country.

Software developer James and his partner returned from a 10-day holiday in Fiji earlier this month and were stopped by border force officials at Sydney airport. They were taken aside, and after emptying their suitcases, an official asked them to write their phone passcodes on a piece of paper, before taking their phones into another room.

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