Privacy Commissioner - Te Mana Matapono Matatapu

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ACC/MSD Benefit Eligibility Programme

• Annual Report
• Technical information
• System description
• Historical activity

Annual Report

Purpose: To identify individuals whose MSD entitlement may have changed because they are receiving ACC payments, and to assist MSD in the recovery of outstanding debts.

Year commenced: 2005

Features: Data transferred weekly by online transfer.

ACC disclosure to MSD: ACC selects individuals who have:

• claims where there has been no payment made to the claimant for six weeks (in case MSD needs to adjust its payments to make up any shortfall)
• current claims that have continued for two months since the first payment 
• current claims that have continued for one year since the first payment.

For these people, ACC provides MSD with the full name (including aliases), date of birth, address, IRD number, ACC claimant identifier, payment start/end dates and payment amounts.

2010/11 activity:

New match runs started in the reporting period

Match runs	53
Records received for matching	1,952,282
Possible matches identified	5,836
Notifications received for debt recovery (from 30 May)	568

All match runs active in the reporting period

Matches that required no further action	3,856
Notices of adverse action	1,914
Challenges	50
Successful challenges	33
Overpayments established	1,319
Value of overpayments established	$1,658,024

Commentary: On 30 May 2011, MSD started using information received through this programme to assist them in the recovery of outstanding debts.  Detailed reporting on this activity will commence in the next annual report.

Compliance: Compliant.


Technical information

Information matching provision	Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001, s.281(2)
Year authorised	1991
Programme type	Confirming eligibility Detecting illegal behaviour Detecting processing errors Locating people
On-line transfers	Yes

System description

Each week, ACC sends MSD, by encrypted online transfer, details about individuals who have claims where there has been no payment made to the claimant for six weeks, current claims that have continued for two months since the first payment, and current claims that have continued for one year since the first payment. For these people, ACC provides MSD with the full name (including aliases), date of birth, address, IRD number, ACC claimant identifier, payment start/end dates and payment amounts.

MSD compares the ACC information with its client data to identify individuals receiving payments from both agencies. The matching process produces positive matches that are weighted to indicate the probability that an MSD client is the person in the ACC data. All positive matches are loaded into MSD's AIMOS application.

MSD verifies if individuals who were in receipt of both payments were eligible to receive the MSD entitlement at all and, if so, at the rate it was paid. Where ACC payments have ceased, MSD verifies the rate of the ongoing benefit entitlement.

Historical activity

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

New match runs started in the reporting period

Match runs	26	52	52	52	52
Records compared	986,444	2,094,471	2,305,823	2,469,022	2,235,451
Number of client cases	7,636	12,611	6,639	7,124	6,345

All match runs active in the reporting period

Legitimate cases	6,352	11,997	4,230	4,702	4,651
Notices of adverse action	245	1,718	2,549	2,536	1,896
Overpayments established (number)	189	637	1,726	1,370	1,697
Overpayments established	$420,914	$1,519,894	$2,148,772	$1,735,763	$2,459,048
Challenges	16	209	92	159	60
Successful challenges	2	36	32	81	44