Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 194 — Obtaining information about a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth
The Secretary may require a person to give information, or produce a document, to the Department if the Secretary considers the information or document: (a) would help the Department locate another…
Section 195 — Obtaining information to verify claims etc.
(1) The Secretary may require a person to give information about a class of persons to the Department for any or all of the following purposes: (a) to detect cases in which amounts of social security…
Section 196 — Written notice of requirement
(1) A requirement under this Division must be made by written notice given to the person of whom the requirement is made. (2) The notice: (a) may be given personally or by post or in any other manner…
Section 197 — Offence—failure to comply with requirement
(1) A person must not refuse or fail to comply with a requirement under this Division to give information or produce a document. Penalty: Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months. (2)…
Section 197A — Self-incrimination
(1) A person is not excused from giving information, or producing a document, under this Division on the ground that the information, or production of the document, might tend to incriminate the…
Section 197B — Use of information in investigations etc.
Subject to subsection 197A(2), nothing in this Division prevents information given, or a document produced, under this Division by a person from being used in: (a) an inquiry or investigation into a…
Section 198 — Relationship with other laws
(1) Nothing contained in a law of a State or a Territory operates to prevent a person from: (a) giving information; or (b) producing a document; or (c) giving evidence; that the person is required to…
Section 199 — Request for end-of-employment statement
If a person’s employment (including employment under a contract for services) ceases, the person may request his or her former employer to give the person a statement, in accordance with a form…
Section 200 — Offence—failure to give end-of-employment statement
(1) If a person makes a request under section 199, the former employer must comply with the request as soon as practicable. Penalty: Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months. (2) Strict…
Section 201 — Operation of Division
Publishing reasons for ART decisions (1A) Nothing in this Division prevents the ART from publishing in written or electronic form the reasons for a decision of the ART on ART review if the…
Section 201A — Definitions
In this Division: officer means: (a) a person who is or has been an officer within the meaning of subsection 23(1) of the 1991 Act; or (b) a person who is or has been appointed or employed by the…
Section 202 — Permitted obtaining of, making a record of, disclosure of or use of protected information
(1) A person may obtain protected information if the information is obtained for the purposes of: (a) the social security law; or (c) the Dental Benefits Act 2008; or (d) the Family Homelessness…
Section 202A — Obtaining of, making a record of, disclosure of or use of protected information relating to taxation information
Disclosure to taxation officers for matching against taxation information (1) A disclosure of protected information by an officer is made for the purposes of the social security law if: (a) the…
Section 203 — Offence—unauthorised obtaining of protected information
(1) If: (a) a person intentionally obtains information; and (b) the person is not authorised by or under the social security law to obtain the information; and (c) the person knows or ought…
Section 204 — Offence—unauthorised making a record of, disclosure of or use of protected information
(1) If: (a) a person intentionally: (i) makes a record of; or (ii) discloses to any other person; or (iii) otherwise makes use of; information; and (b) the person is not authorised or required by or…
Section 204A — Use of tax file numbers
(1) The Secretary may require the Commissioner of Taxation to provide the Secretary with information about people, including tax file numbers, that was contained in TFN declarations lodged with the…
Section 205 — Offence—soliciting disclosure of protected information
(1) If: (a) a person (the first person) solicits the disclosure of protected information from an officer or another person; and (b) the disclosure would be in contravention of this Division; and (c)…
Section 206 — Offence—offering to supply protected information
(1) A person who offers to supply (whether to a particular person or otherwise) information about another person, knowing the information to be protected information, commits an offence. (2) A person…
Section 207 — Protection of certain documents etc. from production to court etc.
An officer must not, except for the purposes of the social security law or the Royal Commissions Act 1902, be required: (a) to produce any document in his or her possession; or (b) to disclose any…
Section 208 — Disclosure of information by Secretary
(1) Despite sections 204 and 207, the Secretary may: (a) if the Secretary certifies that it is necessary in the public interest to do so in a particular case or class of cases—disclose information…
Section 209 — Guidelines for exercise of Secretary’s disclosure powers
The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make guidelines for the exercise of either or both of the following: (a) the Secretary’s power to give certificates for the purposes of paragraph…
Section 210 — Officer’s declaration
An officer must make a declaration in a form approved by the Minister or the Secretary if required to do so by the Minister or the Secretary.
Section 211 — Application of Part
This Part extends to: (a) acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia, whether or not in a foreign country; and (b) all persons, irrespective of their nationality, who are making, or have…
Section 212 — False statement in connection with claim or hardship request
(1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person makes a statement; and (b) the statement is false or misleading; and (c) the person is reckless as to whether the statement is false or…
Section 213 — False statement to deceive or affect rates
(1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person makes a statement; and (b) the statement is false or misleading; and (c) the person is reckless as to whether the statement is false or…
Section 214 — False statement or document
(1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person makes a statement to an officer or the Human Services Department; and (b) the statement is false or misleading in any particular; and (c)…
Section 215 — Obtaining payment that is not payable
(1) A person must not obtain: (a) payment of a social security payment under the social security law; or (b) payment of an instalment of a social security payment under the social security law;…
Section 216 — Payment obtained through fraud etc.
(1) A person contravenes this subsection if: (a) the person obtains: (i) payment of a social security payment under the social security law; or (ii) payment of an instalment of a social security…
Section 217 — Penalty for contravention of Division 2
A person who contravenes a provision of Division 2 commits an offence punishable on conviction by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.
Section 218 — Repayment of social security payment
(1) If a person is convicted of an offence against section 217, the court may: (a) impose a penalty in respect of the offence; and (b) order the person to pay the Commonwealth an amount equal to any…
Section 219 — Penalty where person convicted of more than one offence
(1) Subject to subsection (2), if a person is convicted of more than one offence against section 217, the court may, if it thinks fit, impose one penalty for all the offences. (2) A single penalty…
Section 220 — Joining of charges
Charges against the same person for a number of offences against section 217 may be joined in one complaint, information or declaration if those charges: (a) are founded on the same facts; or (b)…
Section 221 — Particulars of each offence
If 2 or more charges are included in the same complaint, information or declaration, particulars of each offence charged are to be set out in a separate paragraph.
Section 222 — Trial of joined charges
If charges are joined, the charges are to be tried together unless: (a) the court considers it just that any charge should be tried separately; and (b) the court makes an order to that effect.
Section 223 — Evidentiary effect of Secretary’s certificate
(1) For the purposes of paragraph 218(1)(b), a certificate signed by the Secretary is prima facie evidence of the matters specified in the certificate. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), a…
Section 224 — Enforcement of court certificate as judgment
If: (a) a court makes an order under paragraph 218(1)(b), under paragraph 1351(1)(b) of the 1991 Act as in force before 20 March 2000 or under subsection 239(7) of the 1947 Act; and (b) the clerk or…
Section 225 — State of mind of a person
A reference in this Division to the state of mind of a person includes a reference to: (a) the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person; and (b) the person’s reasons for the…
Section 228 — Offence
A reference in this Division to an offence against the social security law includes a reference to: (a) an offence against the social security law that is taken to have been committed because of…
Section 231 — State of mind of individual
If, in proceedings for an offence against the social security law in respect of conduct engaged in by a person other than a corporation, it is necessary to establish the state of mind of the person,…
Section 232 — Conduct of employee or agent
If: (a) conduct is engaged in on behalf of a person other than a corporation by an employee or agent of the person; and (b) the conduct is within the scope of the employee’s actual or apparent…
Section 233 — Exclusion of imprisonment as penalty for certain offences
In spite of any other provision of the social security law, if: (a) a person is convicted of an offence; and (b) the person would not have been convicted if sections 231 and 232 had not been in…
Section 234 — Delegation
(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Secretary may, in writing, delegate to an officer all or any of the powers of the Secretary under the social security law. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the…
Section 235 — Authorised review officers
The Secretary may, in writing, authorise an officer to perform duties as an authorised review officer for the purposes of the social security law.
Section 236 — Decisions to be in writing
(1) A decision of an officer under the social security law must be in writing. (2) A decision under the social security law is taken to be in writing if it is made, or recorded, by means of a…
Section 237 — Notice of decisions
(1) If notice of a decision under the social security law is: (a) delivered to a person personally; or (b) left at the address of the place of residence or business of the person last known to the…
Section 238 — Payments to Commissioner of Taxation or the Child Support Registrar
(1) The Secretary must, in accordance with section 218 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, or Subdivision 260-A in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953, for the purpose of enabling…
Section 239 — Judicial notice of certain matters
(1) All courts are to take judicial notice of a signature that purports to be attached or appended to any official document if the signature is of a person who: (a) holds or has held the office of:…
Section 240 — Documentary evidence
(1) If the signature of any person who: (a) holds or has held the office of: (i) Secretary; or (ii) Director-General of Social Security; or (iii) Director-General of Social Services; or (b) is or has…
Section 240A — Form of cards
(1) A pensioner concession card, a seniors health card or a health care card must be in a form approved in writing by the Secretary for that card. (2) Subject to subsection (3), an approval under…
Section 240B — Restrictions on listing of dependants
(1) A seniors health card is not to include the name of any person as a dependant of the holder of the card. (2) A health care card issued to a person by virtue of subsection 1061ZK(7) or 1061ZO(9)…