Commonwealth Numbered Acts

DATA-MATCHING PROGRAM (ASSISTANCE AND TAX) ACT 1990 No. 20 of 1991 - SECT 13

13. (1) In this section:

"Commissioner" means the Privacy Commissioner.

(2) The Commissioner may investigate any act or practice which might be a
breach of this Act or the guidelines in the Schedule.

(3) Where the Commissioner finds that an investigated act or investigated
practice of the matching agency or a source agency was in breach of this Act
or the guidelines, the Commissioner and the agency must endeavour to make
arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner in relation to the act or
practice.

(4) Where the Commissioner finds that an act, or practice, investigated was in
breach of this Act or the guidelines and arrangements have not been made under
subsection (3) or the Commissioner considers a report under this subsection
appropriate in all the circumstances, the Commissioner:

   (a)  must make a report to the Minister about the act or practice; and

   (b)  must set out in the report the Commissioner's findings and the reasons
        for those findings; and

   (c)  may include in the report any recommendations by the Commissioner for
        preventing repetition of the act or a continuation of the practice;
        and

   (d)  may include in the report any recommendation by the Commissioner for
        either or both of the following:

   (i)  the payment of compensation in respect of a person who has suffered
        loss or damage as a result of the act or practice; or

   (ii) the taking of other action to remedy or reduce loss or damage suffered
        by a person as a result of the act or practice; and

   (e)  must serve a copy of the report on the matching agency, any source
        agency concerned in the act or practice and the Minister responsible
        for such a source agency; and

   (f)  may serve a copy of the report on any person affected by the act or
        practice.

(5) Where, at the end of 60 days after a copy of a report about an act or
practice was served under subsection (4), the Commissioner is not satisfied
that reasonable steps have been taken to prevent a repetition of the act or a
continuation of the practice, the Commissioner must give to the Minister a
further report that:

   (a)  incorporates the earlier report and any background information that
        the Commissioner has received from an agency in response to the
        earlier report; and

   (b)  states whether, to the knowledge of the Commissioner, any action has
        been taken as a result of the findings and recommendations (if any)
        set out in the earlier report, and if so, the nature of that action;
        and

   (c)  states why the Commissioner is not satisfied that reasonable steps
        have been taken to prevent a repetition of the act or a continuation
        of the practice; and, where the second report relates to an agency
        other than an agency administered by the Minister, must give a copy of
        the report to the Minister responsible for the agency.

(6) The Minister is to cause a copy of the report given under subsection (5)
to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that
House, after the report is received by the Minister.

(7) In conducting an investigation under this section, the Commissioner has
all the powers of investigation that he or she has under Part 5 and section 99
of the Privacy Act 1988.

(8) Nothing in this section or in any other provision of this Act limits the
rights of persons under the Privacy Act 1988 to complain to the Commissioner
about interference with privacy.