A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999

PART 6 - PROVISIONS RELATING TO INFORMATION  

Division 1 - Information gathering  

SECTION 157   Obtaining information to verify claims etc  

157(1)    

The Secretary may require a person to give information about a class of persons, to a specified agency for either or both of the following purposes:

(a) to detect cases in which amounts of family assistance have been paid to persons not entitled to them;

(b) to verify the eligibility, entitlement to be paid and amount of the entitlement of persons who have made claims for family assistance.

157(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 was 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 workload for the course;

(xi) indicators of the person ' s workload, 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:

(i) the date on which the person ' s employment started; and

(ii) the date on which the person ' s employment ended; and

(iii) the number of hours each week for which the person is employed;

(k) in relation to any other recognised activity (other than as an employee) that the person engages in for the person given the notice - any or all of the following:

(i) the date on which the recognised activity started;

(ii) the date on which the recognised activity ended;

(iii) the number of hours each week in which the person engages in the recognised activity;

(l) in relation to any training of the person by the person given the notice:

(i) the name of the entity providing the training;

(ii) if the person is undertaking a training course - the name of the training course

(iii) the period required to complete the training;

(iv) the date on which the person ' s training started;

(v) the date on which the person ' s training ended;

(vi) the number of hours each week for which the person engages in the training.

157(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 persons:

(a) who have been paid family assistance; or

(b) who are entitled to family assistance; or

(c) who have made claims for family assistance.

(d) (Repealed by No 22 of 2017)

157(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).

157(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.

157(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.