Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Act 2016 (74 of 2016)

Schedule 2   HELP information management

Part 1   Amendments

Higher Education Support Act 2003

2   After section 180-25

Insert:

180-28 Disclosure and use of information for the HELP program

Disclosure of information

(1) A *HELP program Commonwealth officer may disclose *Higher Education Support Act information (other than a person's *tax file number) to another HELP program Commonwealth officer for the purposes referred to in subsection (5).

(2) The *Secretary may disclose a person's *tax file number to the *Commissioner for the purposes referred to in subsection (5).

Use of information

(3) A *HELP program Commonwealth officer may use *Higher Education Support Act information (other than a person's *tax file number) for the purposes referred to in subsection (5).

(4) If a person's *tax file number is disclosed under subsection (2), the *Commissioner may use that tax file number for the purposes referred to in subsection (5).

Purposes of disclosure or use

(5) The purposes are to assist in the development of the *HELP program, or the administration or future administration of the HELP program, including by:

(a) policy formation; and

(b) financial planning and projection; and

(c) program design; and

(d) conducting research.

Definitions

(6) The HELP program means the program consisting of:

(a) grants to higher education providers under Part 2-2; and

(b) assistance provided to students under Chapter 3 or Schedule 1A; and

(c) repayment of debts under Chapter 4 incurred in relation to that assistance.

(7) HELP program Commonwealth officer means:

(a) the *Secretary; or

(b) the *Commissioner; or

(c) a *Commonwealth officer specified to be a HELP program Commonwealth officer under subsection (8).

(8) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify that a *Commonwealth officer, or a Commonwealth officer in a specified class, is a *HELP program Commonwealth officer for the purposes of paragraph (7)(c).