Under sections 154(1)(b), 155 and156 of the Privacy Act 2020, the Privacy Commissioner has specified the following reporting in respect of the approved information sharing agreement listed in Schedule 2A of the Privacy Act between Inland Revenue and MSD to facilitate the following public services.
- The accurate and efficient assessment of eligibility for, and entitlement to, benefits and subsidies.
- The accurate and efficient assessment and enforcement of tax obligations, including recovering any associated debt.
- The accurate and efficient assessment and enforcement of obligations relating to benefits and subsidies, including recovering any associated debt.
Inland Revenue will collate the following information annually (for the period between 1 July and 30 June) and report the information in its annual report for that year.
Scale
| Shares derived from: | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of records disclosed (MSD to Inland Revenue) | ||
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 610 | 144 |
| Child support administration | 94,378[1] | 470,567[2] |
| Student loan programme | 24,531,906 | 18,683,988 |
| Shares derived from | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of records disclosed (Inland Revenue to MSD) | ||
| Community Service Card | 3,066,557 | 2,380,817 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 610 | 144 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students | 303,626 | 1,130,036 |
| Child support administration | 402,047[1] | 180,351[2] |
| Student loan programme | 387,504 | 331,213 |
Benefits (Quantitative)
| Metric | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of services automatically transferred | ||
| Working for Families Tax Credit (WfFTC) administration | 19,667 | 16,126 |
| Number of services stopped (overpayments) | ||
| WfFTC double payment (number)[4] | 995 | 1,985 |
| Metric | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|
| Services offered or renewed (number) | ||
| Community Services Card | 415,134 | 369,241 |
| Service cancellations (number) | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and students | 33 | 594 |
| Adverse action notices (number sent) | ||
| Community Services Card | 14,473 | 6,624 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 1 | 0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students | 15,985[4] | 72,953 |
| Challenges (number received and number upheld) | ||
| Community Services Card (received) | 75 | 0 |
| Community Services Card (upheld) | 23 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (received) | 0 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (upheld) | 0 | 0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (received) | 176 | 1,010 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (upheld) | 36 | 234 |
| Overpayments established (number and value) | ||
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (number) | 0 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (value) | $0 | $0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (number) | 5,247 | 24,835 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (value) | $12,363,552 | $65,459,722 |
| Arrears created (number and value) | ||
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (number) | 0 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (value) | $0 | $0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (number) | 0 | 29 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (value) | $0 | $4,418 |
| Referrals for suspected fraud (number) | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and students | 0 | 0 |
| Prosecutions successful (number) | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and students | 5 | 2 |
Notes
1 Estimated (as agreed with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner).
2 Actual figure. Child support data has now been migrated to Inland Revenue's new START system.
3 The programme was on hold for most of the year, as MSD staff were diverted to other priority COVID-19 related tasks, resulting in a reduction in proactive information share activities (note that records were still received from Inland Revenue). The figure reported for 'proactive information share - benefits and subsidies' means 'clients with a case or an investigation created by MSD'. An adverse action letter may not need to be sent to the client in all situations, and in other situations, multiple letters may be sent.
4 The $ value of the WfFTC double payment could not be assessed due to a change of reporting system within Inland Revenue.
Qualitative benefits
In the 2021–22 year.
- The information sharing under this AISA has effectively helped MSD to assess eligibility for Community Services Cards, benefits and subsidies, and to identify overpayments. It is also the most effective way for Inland Revenue and MSD to ensure customers receive their correct Working for Families Tax Credit entitlements.
- There have been no data breaches under the AISA.
- Data was continually shared throughout this reporting period. However, actions were not carried out by MSD as a result of resources being diverted to the COVID-19 response. This has impacted both the 'Commencement/cessation of benefits/student match' and 'proactive information share' recorded values within this reporting period.
Assurance
In the 2021–22 year.
- MSD and Inland Revenue have received no privacy complaints about the operation of the information sharing under the AISA.
- there has been no change to the Order in Council.