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 IR and the Ministry of Social Development (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.
- The development of public policy using personal information to assess the potential costs to the Crown and the impact on individuals, or groups of individuals, who may be affected.
- Administration, research and analysis for the purposes set out in the agreement for which information may be shared.
IR 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: | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of records disclosed (MSD to IR) | ||
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 55 | 21 |
| Child support administration | 672,153 | 157,908 |
| Student loan programme | 17,079,734 | 16,259,014 |
| Shares derived from | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
| Number of records disclosed (IR to MSD) | ||
| Community Services Card | 1,725,016 | 1,830,267 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 55 | 21 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies | 846,787 | 832,131 |
| Child support administration | 116,757 | 121,549 |
| Student loan programme | 119,118 | 298,866 |
Benefits (Quantitative)
| Metric | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of services automatically transferred: | ||
| Working for Families Tax Credit (WFFTC) administration | 14,549 | 14,666 |
| Number of services stopped (overpayments): | ||
| WFFTC double payment (number) | 904 | 947 |
| WFFTC double payment (value) | $721,118 | $696,906 |
| Services offered or renewed (number): | ||
| Community Services Card | 273,444 | 306,976 |
| Service cancellations (number): | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies | 1,495 | 886 |
| Adverse action notices (number sent): | ||
| Community Services Card | 4,401 | 4,652 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students | 0 | 0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies | 66,315 | 46,076 |
| Challenges (number received and number upheld): | ||
| Community Services Card (received) | 0 | 0 |
| Community Services Card (upheld) | 0 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (received) | 0 | 0 |
| Commencement/cessation of benefits/students (upheld) | 0 | 0 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies (received) | 812 | 960 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (upheld) | 150 | 133 |
| 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 subsidies (number) | 17,158 | 12,749 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and students (value) | $57,483,151 | $50,453,814 |
| 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 subsidies (number) | 25 | 30 |
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies (value) | $5,868 | $3,438 |
| Referrals for suspected fraud (number): | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies | 1 | 0 |
| Prosecutions successful (number): | ||
| Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies | 0 | 0 |
Qualitative benefits
In the 2023–24 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 IR 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, MSD has continued to reprioritise resources to manage the increased demand volumes across all data match and information shares. This has impacted both the Commencement/cessation of benefits/subsidies match and Proactive information share - benefits and subsidies recorded values within this reporting period.
Assurance
In the 2023–24 year we can confirm MSD and IR 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.
Last updated:
06 Dec 2024