House of Representatives

Social Security and Veterans' Entitlements Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Matters) Bill 2000

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Honourable Jocelyn Newman)

Schedule 2 - Amendment of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

Part 1 - Tax file numbers

1. Summary of proposed changes

These amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (the Administration Act), combined with the amendments contained in Schedules 4 and 5, authorise the use of tax file numbers (TFNs) as the primary matching key for data-matching purposes.

2. Background

With the exception of data matching against tax returns conducted under the Data-Matching Program, TFNs cannot be used in Centrelink/Australian Tax Office data matching for compliance purposes. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) currently provides Centrelink with Employment Declaration Form, Prescribed Payment System and Reportable Payment System data on a regular basis, with matching being carried out using identity data (eg name, date of birth etc). There are difficulties in identifying customers who inadvertently or deliberately provide different personal details to the ATO and Centrelink. This measure provides for TFNs to be used as the primary matching key.

3. Explanation of the changes

Item 1 of Schedule 2 inserts new section 204A into the Administration Act. Combined with the amendments made by Schedules 4 and 5, the effect of the amendment is to allow TFNs to be used as the primary matching key for data matching purposes with the objective of strengthening compliance with the social security law.

New subsection 204A(1) provides that the Secretary may require the Commissioner of Taxation to provide the Secretary with information about persons, including tax file numbers. The information that the Secretary can seek under this provision is limited to information contained in TFN declarations.

New subsection 204A(2) limits the purposes for which the information provided pursuant to subsection (1) may be used. The purposes are limited to ensuring that social security payments are made only to those persons who are entitled to receive them and to ensuring that the rate at which payments are made is correct.

Part 2 - Claiming unclaimed overseas entitlements

At present, only persons from an a country with which Australia has a social security agreement are required to take reasonable steps to obtain a "comparable foreign payment" from that country.

These amendments, in conjunction with amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 will extend that requirement to persons from all countries, with effect from 20 September 2000.

Amnesty

An amnesty is provided - see Item 133 in Part 4 of Schedule 1.

Item 2

Section 66 presently provides that persons may be required to seek a comparable foreign payment from a CFP country (being a country with which Australia has a social security agreement.

This item (and item 3) will amend section 66 to require that a person may be required to seek a comparable foreign payment from any foreign country.

Item 3

This item makes a similar amendment to Item 2.

Item 4

Limitation in s82 Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 - Power to suspend

Section 82 provides for "cancellations" of a payment for failure to comply with certain provisions. In contrast, other similar provisions relate to "cancellations or suspensions". This limitation has the potential to quite onerous consequences as, once cancelled, a person must return to Australia to lodge a fresh claim.

To avoid this outcome, this item will amend section 82 to provide for "cancellations or suspensions".

Part 3 - Beneficiaries leaving Australia

The amendments in this Part are consequential upon the amendments made to the Social Security Act 1991 by Part 1 of Schedule 1.

Item 5

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal subsection 109(6). This subsection relates to section 1218 of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 6

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal subsection 118(10). This subsection relates to section 1218 of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 7

This is a consequential amendment to subsection 135(1), as a result of the amendment made by item 8.

Item 8

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal subsection 135(4). This subsection relates to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 9

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal paragraph 144(q). This paragraph relates to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 10

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal paragraph 151(2)(f). This paragraph relates to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 11

This item is a consequential amendment to repeal section 190. This section relates to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 12

This item is a consequential amendment to amend subsection 234(3). This paragraph which is omitted by this amendment relates to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 13

This item is a consequential amendment to amend subsection 234(4). This words omitted by this amendment relate to section 1218A of the Social Security Act 1991 , which is repealed by item 113 of Schedule 1.

Item 14

This is a savings provision to ensure that proceedings which are on foot at the time the amendments in items 5 to 13 come into operation, and which are founded in the provisions affected by those amendments, are preserved.


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