The Australian Government Department of Human Services
NOTICE OF A DATA MATCHING PROGRAMME
Under the current Service Agreements between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and the Department of Human Services (Human Services), specific immigration and employment data is shared.
The Partner Visa data match will enable Human Services to identify social welfare recipients who may not have appropriately disclosed their correct relationship status. It will also enable DIBP to identify those currently suspected of involvement in migration fraud through the partner visa programme.
- The details will be electronically matched with specific Human Services data holdings, to identify non-compliance with income or other reporting obligations. Records exceeding 5,000 individuals will be matched.
- Human Services holds approximately 7 million unique records in its Centrelink database. DIBP reports in excess of 40,000 partner visa applications lodged onshore each programme year. Records exceeding 5,000 individuals will be matched.
- The classes of people who may be affected by this programme will include welfare recipients who are on single payments but have declared sponsorship of a partner for immigration purposes.
- Analysis of the results of data matching of partner visa applicants will identify non-compliance and fraud and form the basis of intervention activities such as investigations and administrative treatments.
A protocol document describing this programme has been prepared by Human Services in collaboration with DIBP. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has provided comments to the Department about this protocol. A copy of this document is available from:
Intelligence Section
Louisa Lawson Building
25 Cowlishaw Street
Greenway ACT
Human Services has developed this data matching programme protocol under the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on Data Matching in Australian Government Administration which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals and the security of information.