A mobile tracing app is a "step too far" for even some of the region's state MPs when it comes to beating coronavirus.
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The federal government wants people to voluntarily download the app when it is released, which will record anyone who has spent more than 15 minutes within 1.5 metres of a person who tests positive for the virus.
Wodonga-based MP Tim Quilty said there was a danger that data would be exploited by the government or hackers.
"We need more information about the app and the security behind it; however, there is very little chance that I will download it - and not just because I do not want my movements being tracked by the government. I don't trust the government to be competent to manage this," he said
"Tracking Australians as they go about their lives is one of the biggest breaches of civil liberties I can possibly imagine.
"If you were deliberately trying to pick something as dystopian as the lockdown, this tracking app would certainly fit the bill."
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Another of the MPs on the Victorian crossbench, Tania Maxwell from Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, also will not download the app.
"I believe it may be a step too far," she said.
"I am extremely concerned about the hysteria this information could create for individuals and family members."
She said it was up to individuals whether they choose to download the app, but there were too many questions to determine if it was the right way to track coronavirus.
"There are still too many questions around how the data will be gathered and stored, how reliable the information generated will be and the requirements put on people if they are deemed through the app to have been 'in contact' with COVID-19 cases," Ms Maxwell said.
Mr Quilty said the more transparent approach would be a comprehensive testing framework to give a clear picture of how the virus is spreading.
"At the moment, getting a COVID-19 test is still incredibly difficult," he said.
"The coronavirus epidemic has enabled governments to unleash their wildest fantasies of monitoring and controlling people's daily movements and surprisingly few people seem to be concerned about it."
Indi MP Helen Haines also will not download the app until the government gives some assurances about the security of data.
"I think it is one possible tool in what needs to be a suite of measures," she said.
"I also want to be absolutely sure that the personal data that's to be gathered will be secure and that this information will be destroyed, and the app dismantled, as soon as it is no longer needed ... The government needs to demonstrate that we can have the strongest trust in these processes.
"The government also needs to bear in mind that not everyone has mobile phone reception, or digital capability, or a mobile phone."
But Farrer MP Sussan Ley is one the the politicians who will happily download the app on her phone when it is released and is encouraging others to do the same thing.
"The really important thing for me is the app will help our health authorities identify someone who might not even know they are carrying the virus, protecting not only themselves, but their family and local community," she said.
"On privacy, I completely understand there will be some fear of the unknown here.
"The assurance is that any data will be stored securely and anonymously on your phone and is fully encrypted.
"It cannot be accessed by anyone, including the user and is only available to health professionals for tracing purposes so, for our collective health and safety."
Wodonga-based Senator Bridget McKenzie said it was important to put health and safety of others first when working together to overcome the pandemic.
"The government is right to assess how technology can assist in this pandemic however it is important to note the installation of this app is voluntary and protection of individuals privacy needs to be paramount," she said.
Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy said he understood why some people were concerned about their privacy if they download the app, but it may be the only way to regain personal freedom.
"If it's the difference between people saying you're going to have to stay in isolation for the next three months, but people who want to use one of these apps can go out within one month, then it becomes a personal choice," he said.
"If someone wants to track you, I think they probably can and they've already got that access to that."
