Explanatory Memorandum
Circulated By the Authority of the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MPSchedule 7 - Minor corrections
Summary
Minor amendments are made to reinsert an unintentionally omitted reference in the social security confidentiality provisions, and to make two technical corrections.
Background
This Schedule reinserts a reference, unintentionally omitted from the confidentiality provisions in the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Social Security Administration Act), by the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Income Support for Students) Act 2010 (the Students Act).
The reference in question (to the Digital Switch-over Household Assistance Program (the Switch-over Program)) was inserted into subsection 202(1) of the Social Security Administration Act by the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Digital Television Switch-over) Act 2009 (the Switch-over Act), with effect from 27 June 2009. This was to allow protected information to be obtained for the purposes of the Switch-over Program.
However, the Students Act substituted subsection 202(1) for its own purposes, with effect from 1 April 2010, unintentionally omitting the recently inserted reference to the Switch-over Program.
The reference is reinserted so the Switch-over Program continues to operate as intended.
The Schedule also makes two technical amendments to the Social Security Act and the Social Security Administration Act.
The amendments made by this Schedule commence on Royal Assent.
Explanation of the changes
Item 1 makes a technical amendment by inserting 'to' after 'not' in subsection 1218(3) of the Social Security Act.
Item 2 reinstates the reference to the Switch-over Program, as described above, in subsection 202(1) of the Social Security Administration Act.
Item 3 makes a technical amendment by re-lettering as paragraph (dc) the second occurring paragraph 202(2)(db) of the Social Security Administration Act, which was inserted by item 2 of Schedule 1 to the Switch-over Act.