DATE OF ISSUE:  16 September 1999

Implementation and use of new Certificate of Disclosure for exchange of information between FaCS, Centrelink and DVA

Purpose

To advise of the endorsement by the Secretary of the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) of the new “Certificate of Disclosure of information to another Commonwealth Department or Authority” – No.1 of 1999” (Certificate of Disclosure).

Use of  Certificate of Disclosure

Gives authority under paragraph 1314(1)(b) of the Social Security Act 1991, the disclosure of protected information as specified in Schedule A of the Certificate, to the Secretary to the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), by those employees of Centrelink as specified in Schedules A and B to the Certificate to obtain certain information.

Date of Effect of new Certificate of Disclosure

The new Certificate of Disclosure and accordingly the departmental instruction (DI) supersedes those previously issued in the DI No. C20/96, of February 1996.  This Certificate takes effect from 8 August 1999 – the date of authorisation of the document by the Secretary to FaCS. A copy of the new Certificate of Disclosure is attached to this DI.

Requirement under VEA to obtain information from Centrelink

It is an ongoing requirement that all requests to Centrelink for the supply of information under the terms of the Certificate of Disclosure must take the form of a section 128 VEA notice signed by a DVA officer with the relevant delegation. Before issuing a section 128 VEA notice to Centrelink for supply of information it is important that Staff; ascertain the nature of the information required and the purpose; check the Certificate of Disclosure and confirm that the required information is available under the terms of the Certificate; and state the appropriate clause in the Certificate of disclosure relating to section 128 VEA notice ie., subclause 1(5).

Disclosure of personal information to Centrelink

Any disclosure of personal information can only occur if it is permitted by the Information Privacy Principle 11 (the Information Privacy Principles are contained in section 14 of the Privacy Act 1988 and are accessible on CLIK ).  The request for information from DVA should be in writing stating the authority for the request.

Contact person

Any inquiries regarding this DI should be directed to the Policy Section, Income Support Branch. Oona O'Beirne         (02) 9213 7771 Ferri Ghazi               (02) 6289 6436

R J Hay

Branch Head

Income Support

       September 1999

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Certificate under paragraph 1314(1)(b) of the Social Security Act 1991 in relation to Centrelink

Disclosure of information to another Commonwealth Department or Authority  - No. 1 of 1999

I, Suzanne Sharon Vardon, Chief Executive Officer of Centrelink, having been delegated all of the powers of the Secretary to the Department of Family and Community Services except the Secretary's powers under sections 1295, 1298A, 1298B and 1298C of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act), REVOKE all references to Clause 11 contained in SCHEDULE A of Certificate No.1 dated 30 April 1998, and AUTHORISE, under paragraph 1314(1)(b) of the Act in relation to Centrelink, the disclosure of protected information as specified in Schedule A of this Certificate, to the Secretary to the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), by those employees of Centrelink as specified in Schedules A and B to this Certificate.

Dated this — Eightday of — August — 1999

..........................................................

SUE VARDON

Chief Executive Officer

Centrelink

Schedule A - Disclosure of Information to another Commonwealth Department or Authority

CONTENTS

ClauseDepartment or Authority

Clause 1 — Department of Veterans' Affairs

Schedule A - Disclosure of Information to another Commonwealth Department or Authority

1.Department of Veterans' Affairs

(1).Subject to subclause 1(2) and 1(3), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to enable DVA to calculate or determine a payment where a person and/or their partner is transferring to or from a social security payment, to or from a payment made by DVA or where a DVA customer's partner receives a social security payment.

(2).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(1) is:

(a)full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)marital status;

(e)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

(f)CRN number;

(g)payment type;

(h)period of payment;

(i)rate of payment and components;

(j)termination/suspension/rejection reason;

(k)amount of any overpayment to be recovered as a result of a payment made by Centrelink or DVA;

(l)country of birth;

(m)date of arrival;

(n)itemised income and asset details including the name and branch of financial institutions and account numbers;

(o)account types and titles of accounts, and full details of managed investments and shares; and

(p)name and address of employer; period of employment; broken residency details.

(3).Additional information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(1) in discrepant cases is as 1(2) above.

(4).Subject to subclause 1(5) and 1(6), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to enable DVA to determine a claim or undertake a review under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

(5).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(4) is:

(a)full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (postal and home);

(d)marital status;

(e)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

(f)CRN number;

(g)payment type;

(h)period of payment;

(i)rate of payment and components;

(j)treating doctor's reports;

(k)termination/suspension/rejection reason;

(l)country of birth; and

13. date of arrival.

(6).Additional information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(4) in discrepant cases is:

(a)itemised income and asset details including the name and branch of financial institutions and account numbers;

(b)account types and titles of accounts, and full details of managed investments and shares;

(c)name and address of employer;

(d)period of employment; and

(e)broken residency details.

(7).Subject to subclause 1(8) and 1(9), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to enable the checking of discrepant cases detected by data matching undertaken under the provisions of the Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990.

(8).Those employees of Centrelink specified in clause 1(22) to this certificate for the purpose of disclosing information under subclause 1(7) are authorised to do so in complex cases.

(9).Those employees of Centrelink specified in clause 1(22) to this certificate for the purpose of disclosing information under subclause 1(7) are authorised to do so in all cases other than in complex cases.

(10).Subject to subclause 1(11), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to detect or prevent dual payments.

(11).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(10) is:

(a)full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)marital status;

(e)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

(f)type of DVA payment advised by customer to Centrelink;

(g)whether the overpayment is subject to a fraud inquiry;

(h)CRN number;

(i)payment type;

(j)period of payment; and

(k)rate of payment and components.

(12).Subject to subclause 1(13), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to facilitate adjustments under section 205AA of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

(13).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(12) is:

(a)full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)marital status;

(e)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

(f)type of DVA payment advised by customer to Centrelink;

(g)CRN number;

(h)payment type;

(i)period of payment; (j)              rate of payment and components; and

(k)amount of adjustment for customer and partner listed separately.

(14).Subject to subclause 1(15), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to assist in an investigation or prosecution, or a possible investigation or prosecution under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, or the Crimes Act 1914.

(15).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(14) is:

(a)full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)telephone number;

(e)marital status;

(f)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

(g)CRN number;

(h)payment type;

(i)period of payment;

(j)current and past rates of payment and components;

(k)itemised income and asset details including the name and branch of financial institutions and account numbers;

(l)account types and title of accounts;

(m)full details of managed investments and shares;

(n)name/s and address/es of current and previous employer/s;

(o)period of employment and amounts paid;

(p)copies of completed Agency claim/review forms;

(q)termination/suspension/rejection reason;

(r)information or documents relating to current fraud inquiry;

(s)details of previous convictions or fraud investigations;

(t)country of birth, date of arrival and broken residency details.

(16).Subject to subclause 1(17), 1(18), 1(19), 1(20) and 1(21), information can be disclosed to the Secretary to DVA to assist in the recovery of a debt.

(17).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(16) to determine the most suitable method of recovery of a DVA pension or allowance and to calculate the formula rate of deductions from a social security payment is:

(a)customer's full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)telephone number;

(e)marital status;

(f)full names and dates of birth of dependants;

7.         confirmation that the debtor is a Centrelink customer and if so:

(i)CRN number;

(ii)payment type;

(iii)rate of payment and components;

(iv)itemised income and asset details including the name and branch of financial institutions, account numbers, account types and title of accounts;

(v)full details of shares and managed investments; and

(vi)name and address of employer, period of employment, and amounts paid.

(18).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(16) to assist in the recovery of an overpayment of DVA pension or allowance by deductions from a payment made by Centrelink as authorised in subsections   1228(1) and 1228(2) is:

(a)customer's full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)current address (home and postal);

(d)confirmation that the debtor is an Agency customer and if so:

(i)CRN number;

(ii)payment type;

(iii)amount recovered and the period of withholding's;

(iv)rate of withholding's and, if decreased from the original rate requested, the reason it occurred; and

(v)if withholding's cannot be imposed, the reason for this, including approximate cessation date if an Agency debt is being recovered.

(19).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(16) when deductions under subsection 1228(1) of the Act cease and there is an outstanding balance of the debt and Agency information may assist in locating and contacting the debtor to negotiate continuing repayments is:

(a)customer's full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)last known address (home and postal);

(d)telephone number;

(e)marital status;

(f)reason for cessation of deductions;

(g)termination or suspension reason;

(h)employer's name and address;

(i)partner's full name and address; and

(j)name and branch of financial institution and account number to which social security payment was made.

(20).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(16) when deductions cannot commence because the customer is not in receipt of payment from Centrelink but was previously in receipt of such payment, and Centrelink information may assist in locating and contacting the debtor to negotiate repayment of a DVA debt is:

(a)customer's full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)last known address (home and postal);

(d)termination or suspension reason;

(e)telephone number;

(f)employer's name and address;

(g)partner's full name and address; and

(h)name and branch of financial institution and account number to which social security payment was made.

(21).The information which can be disclosed under subclause 1(16) to assist in the recovery of an overpayment of a social security payment, as defined in Part 5.2 of the Act, by deductions from a payment made by DVA. is:

(a)customer's full name (legal, previous, maiden or alias);

(b)date of birth;

(c)CRN number;

(d)address (postal and home, current and previous);

(e)payment type overpaid;

(f)amount of the overpayment; and

(g)Debt Identification Number.

Authorised Officers

(22).As per Schedule B and the following officers: Data Matching Coordinator in a Control Review and Recovery Unit, Centrelink 2 Officer or above in a Control Review and Recovery Unit, Centrelink 2 Officer or above in a Customer Service Centre.

Schedule B - Employees or Officers of Centrelink Occupying or Performing the Duties of the Specified Positions

EmployeeClause

Chief Executive Officer — All

Deputy CEO — All

Chief Information Officer — All

Business Manager, Privacy and Information Access

Team              All

Authorised Officers delegated as per Clause 22

of Schedule A — All

_____________________________________________________________________