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2009
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER) BILL
2009
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by the authority of the
Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs,
the Hon Jenny Macklin MP)
SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER) BILL
2009
OUTLINE
This bill implements Government policies relating to household assistance
for eligible Australians who may need practical, in-home assistance to make
the move to digital television.
The measure will amend the confidentiality provisions of the Social
Security (Administration) Act 1999 to enable Centrelink to use and disclose
protected information to facilitate the Digital Switch-over Household
Assistance Program.
Financial impact statement
This bill facilitates the implementation of the Digital Switch-over
Household Assistance Program. The estimated financial impact of that
Program is:
|Financial impact | |Total resourcing |
| |2009-10 |$11.3 million |
| |2010-11 |$31.1 million |
| |2011-12 |$29.8 million |
SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER) BILL
2009
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 sets out how the Act is to be cited, that is, the Social Security
Legislation Amendment (Digital Television Switch-over) Act 2009.
Clause 2 provides a table that sets out the commencement dates of the
various provisions in the Act.
Clause 3 provides that each Act that is specified in a Schedule is amended
or repealed as set out in that Schedule.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Summary
The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Digital Television Switch-over)
Bill 2009 amends the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (the Social
Security Administration Act) to enable the implementation of the Digital
Switch-over Household Assistance Program as part of the Government's
commitment to deliver an assistance program to households in regions due to
make the switch from analog to digital television between 1 January 2010
and 31 December 2011. A household will qualify for the assistance program
where one or more residents are in receipt of the maximum rate of any of
the following payments: age pension; disability support pension; carer
payment; or Department of Veterans' Affairs service pension, or income
support supplement.
Background
The Government has announced that all free-to-air television broadcasters
in Australia will complete the switch from analog transmission to digital-
only transmission by the end of 2013.
Switching to digital television will be a straightforward and inexpensive
task for the vast majority of Australians. However, some viewers may need
practical, in-home assistance to make the switch to digital. To ensure
these Australians are not disadvantaged by the switch-over, the Government
will implement an assistance program in regions switching from analog to
digital transmission between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2011. These
are:
. first half 2010: Mildura/Sunraysia television licence area;
. second half 2010: Regional South Australia television licence
areas;
. first half 2011: Regional Victoria television licence areas; and
. second half 2011: Regional Queensland television licence areas.
Lessons learned from switching over these regions will inform the broader
switch-over of the rest of Australia.
The current confidentiality provisions contained in section 202 of the
Social Security Administration Act provide that protected information can
only be obtained, recorded, used or disclosed for the purposes of the
social security law, the Farm Household Support Act 1992, the Dental
Benefits Act 2008 or the Family Homelessness Prevention and Early
Intervention Pilot. The provision of the Digital Switch-over Household
Assistance Program does not fall into any of the categories currently set
out in the confidentiality provisions about obtaining, recording, using and
disclosing protected information.
Legislative authority is required to enable Centrelink to use protected
information to identify and contact people qualified for the Digital Switch-
over Household Assistance Program. In addition, Centrelink needs to be
able to provide the information about recipients of those payments, with
their consent, to the contractors engaged to supply the Digital Switch-over
Household Assistance Program.
Information disclosed to contractors and the Department of Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) will be limited to that
strictly necessary for the implementation of the Digital Television Switch-
over Household Assistance Program. Contractors will not receive specific
information about the customer's age, payment type, disability or marital
status.
DBCDE will also put in place appropriate privacy safeguards with
contractors to ensure that Centrelink customers' personal information is
treated appropriately.
Explanation of the changes
Amendments to the Social Security Administration Act
Item 1 omits all the words appearing after 'the Dental Benefits Act 2008'
in subsection 202(1) of the Social Security Administration Act and
substitutes the words 'the Family Homelessness Prevention and Early
Intervention Pilot or the Digital Switch-over Household Assistance
Program'.
Item 2 inserts a new paragraph (db) into subsection 202(2) of the Social
Security Administration Act to include reference to the Digital Switch-over
Household Assistance Program.
Item 3 inserts a definition of Digital Switch-over Household Assistance
Program into the dictionary in subclause 1(1) of Schedule 1 to the Social
Security Administration Act.
The amendments will authorise a person to obtain, make a record of,
disclose and use protected information under the Social Security
Administration Act for the purposes of the Digital Switch-over Household
Assistance Program.