|
|
|
|
|
The Commonwealth has the power to obtain information about a recipient or a group of recipients for the purposes of verifying information provided to the FAO. It may be necessary for information about a recipient to be exchanged between FAO agencies/offices for the purposes of administering FA law.
Example: If a FA recipient (1.1.R.07) moves to another state or territory of Australia (1.1.A.120), information about their personal circumstances may need to be transferred to the FAO nearest to their new location.
Act reference: FA(Admin)Act section 154 General power to obtain information, section 156 Obtaining information about a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth, section 157 Obtaining information to verify claims etc.
Situations may occur where the information provided by an applicant/recipient on an application may conflict with information about that applicant/recipient held for FA purposes.
Example: A recipient may state on an application that they were 'living together' with the named parent (1.1.P.10) of their FTB child for a particular period, when they had previously advised that they were single during that period. This 'new' information may not be used for reviewing the applicant/recipient's social security entitlements (1.1.S.70).
Penalties can be imposed if officers (1.1.O.10) access or use information that is not required for the performance of their duties.
Policy reference: FA Guide 5.1.3.30 Offences & Penalties
_______________________________________________________
Last reviewed: 30 April 2012
