Notice of a Data-matching Program for the Workforce Australia Single Touch Payroll Initial Data Share

Overview

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Notice of a Data-matching Program for the Workforce Australia Single Touch Payroll Initial Data Share, gazetted as C2024G00761, was introduced to address the need for streamlined and accurate data exchange between the department and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to improve the administration of employment services under the Workforce Australia program. This initiative, enacted by the Australian government, aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of determining eligibility for wage subsidies, outcome payments, and mutual obligations by leveraging Single Touch Payroll (STP) data. The collaboration between these two entities seeks to ensure that the data matching process respects privacy and complies with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s guidelines. The policy objective is to facilitate better service delivery without imposing any adverse consequences on participants, employers, or providers during the initial data share phase.

Scope and Application

The Data-matching Program, as described in the Gazette notice C2024G00761, applies to participants, employers, and providers who have relationships with both the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Australian Taxation Office. The program aims to leverage Single Touch Payroll (STP) data for three specific use cases: determining eligibility for wage subsidies, outcome payments for providers, and mutual obligations for participants. This initiative is designed to enhance the administration of the Workforce Australia employment services program, without affecting the ongoing operations of providers, employers, and participants. Notably, the data will not be used for overpayment, fraud, or non-compliance activities. The program involves identifying mutual clients—individuals with connections to both the department and the ATO—by matching information provided by the department with ATO records. Only the minimum necessary personal information will be disclosed to ensure high confidence in the matching process. The data sharing is a one-off arrangement affecting approximately 46,000 participants, with the potential for this number to change based on the statistical validity of the matches. The department adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching, ensuring the privacy of individuals is protected throughout the process.

Key Provisions

The primary sections of the legislation (C2024G00761) pertain to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' collaboration with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for a data-matching program, specifically focusing on the initial data share for the Workforce Australia Single Touch Payroll (STP) data (s. 2). This program has three main use cases: Wage Subsidies, Outcome Payments, and Mutual Obligations (s. 3). For Wage Subsidies, STP data will be used to determine employer eligibility for wage subsidy agreements and payments (s. 3(1)). In the case of Outcome Payments, the STP data will help ascertain eligibility for payments for providers (s. 3(2)). Lastly, for Mutual Obligations, STP data will be used to determine if a participant has worked during their mutual obligation period to encourage them to claim Points Based Activation System (PBAS) points to comply with social security laws (s. 3(3)). The legislation imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties involved. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations must provide the ATO with the minimum personal information necessary to identify mutual clients (those with a relationship with both the department and the ATO) (s. 4). For those participants with a high confidence match, the department must provide the ATO with the duration of data required for the use cases (s. 4(1)). In return, the ATO provides the department with the STP data it holds for these mutual clients (s. 4(2)). The department ensures that this data sharing is a one-off arrangement and will involve approximately 46,000 participants initially (s. 4(3)). It is explicitly stated that no consequences will follow from this data-matching program, meaning no provider, employer, or participant will be contacted based on the outcomes of the use cases (s. 5). Additionally, the department is not permitted to use STP data for overpayment, fraud, or non-compliance activities (s. 5(1)). In terms of offences, penalties, or consequences, the legislation does not specify any criminal or civil penalties for breaches of its provisions. However, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations adheres to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration to protect the privacy of individuals (s. 6). A full copy of the department’s privacy policy is available online (s. 6(1)). Failure to comply with these guidelines could result in administrative or legal actions, although the specific penalties for such breaches are not outlined in the legislation itself.