Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Migration Amendment (Protection of Identifying Information) Act 2009
Proclamation
Subsection 2(1) of the Migration Amendment (Protection of Identifying Information) Act 2009 (the Act) provides, in part, that Schedule 1 to the Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provisions of Schedule 1 do not commence within six months of the date the Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions commence on the first day after the end of that period. The Act received the Royal Assent on 8 July 2009.
The Proclamation fixes 14 September 2009 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Act commenced. All other Parts of the Act commenced when the Act received the Royal Assent.
Schedule 1 to the Act amends the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) to ensure that all personal identifiers obtained by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship are protected and governed by Part 4A of the Migration Act, which regulates the use, modification, access and disclosure of identifying information.
Schedule 1 to the Act also ensures that, under certain provisions of the Migration Act, personal information must only be disclosed by an officer to the extent necessary in order to obtain help from an individual to identify, authenticate the identity of, or locate the subject, in connection with the administration of the Migration Act.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.