SOCIAL SECURITY (ADMINISTRATION) ACT 1999 - SECT 195 Obtaining information to verify claims etc.

Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Obtaining information to verify claims etc.

(1): The Secretary may require a person to give information about a class of persons to the Department for any or all of the following purposes:

(a): to detect cases in which amounts of social security payment under the social security law have been paid when they should not have been paid;
(b): to detect cases in which concession cards have been granted to persons to whom they should not have been granted;
(c): to verify the qualification of persons who have made claims for social security payments under the social security law for those payments;
(d): to verify the eligibility of persons who have applied for financial supplement.

(2): The information that the Secretary may require about each person in the class of persons is all or any of the following information (but no other information):

(a): full name and any previous name;
(b): address;
(c): sex;
(d): marital status;
(e): date of birth;
(f): date of death;
(g): dates of entries into and departures from Australia;
(h): any payments received by the person from the person given the notice, within the period of 52 weeks before the giving of the notice, and the account number of the account into which any of those payments were paid;
(i): in relation to a course of study being undertaken by the person:

(i): the name of the educational institution that the person is attending;
(ii): the name of any educational institution previously attended by the person;
(iii): the person's enrolment status;
(iv): the person's student identification number;
(v): the name of the course;
(vi): the course code;
(vii): the date on which the course started or starts;
(viii): the date on which the course ends;
(ix): the subject or unit code;
(x): the normal full-time study work load for the course;
(xi): indicators of the person's work load, including (but not limited to) effective full-time student units, credit points, contact hours, number of subjects undertaken and number of assignments completed;
(xii): the number of semesters required to complete the course;
(xiii): the date on which the person first attended, or will first attend, the course;
(xiv): the date on which the person last attended, or will last attend, the course;
(xv): whether the person has discontinued the course and, if the person has discontinued the course, the date on which it happened;
(xvi): details of any unapproved absences from the course;
(xvii): the results or grade obtained by the person;

(j): in relation to any employment of the person by the person given the notice:

(3): The Secretary may require information about a particular class of persons whether or not the Secretary is able to identify any of the persons in that class as being:

(4): Within 13 weeks after information is given in response to a requirement under subsection (1), the Secretary must decide which (if any) of the information is, or is likely to be, relevant to a matter referred to in subsection (1).
(5): If the Secretary decides, within the 13 week period, that some or all of the information given in response to the requirement is not, or is not likely to be, relevant to a matter referred to in subsection (1), the Secretary must ensure that any record of the irrelevant information is destroyed.
(6): If the Secretary has not made a decision under subsection (4) at the end of the 13 week period, the Secretary must ensure that any record of all or any part of the information is destroyed.

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