Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990

The Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990 is an Australian law that provides for the matching of data in relation to certain assistance and tax. The law aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government services by matching data between various agencies.

Key features of the law include:

• The establishment of a data-matching program, which involves the transfer of personal data between agencies.
• The use of algorithms to check the validity of tax file numbers (TFN) and other data.
• The provision of rules relating to privacy, including the requirement for agencies to obtain consent before matching data.
• The establishment of a process for investigating breaches of privacy and handling complaints.

The law also provides for various steps in the data-matching cycle, including:

1. The collection of basic data about persons from assistance agencies.
2. The checking of TFN data using algorithms provided by the tax agency.
3. The extraction of TFN data and other identification numbers from the collected data.
4. The matching of personal identity data with family identity data.
5. The matching of income data to identify inconsistencies.

The law also includes provisions for the transfer of data between agencies, including the use of online computer connections. Additionally, there are rules governing the length of data-matching cycles and the times that do not count towards these periods.

Overall, the Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990 aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government services by matching data between various agencies.