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Customs/IR Child Support Alerts Programme
Annual Report
Purpose: To identify parents in serious default of their child support liabilities who leave for, or return from, overseas so that IR can take steps to recover the outstanding debt.
Year commenced: 2008
Features: Data transferred in close to real-time by online transfer.
IR disclosure to Customs: IR provides Customs with the full name, date of birth and IRD number of parents in serious default of their child support liabilities.
Customs disclosure to IR: For high value debtors (and selected other debtors), Customs provides IR with the person's arrival card information. This includes the full name, date of birth, and date, time and direction of travel, including New Zealand port and prime overseas port (last port of call for arrivals and first port of call for departures).
2010/11 activity:
| Possible matches identified | 6,264 |
| Arrival cards received for liable parents | 1,080 |
| Cards did not meet matching criteria | 107 |
| Cards illegible or incomplete | 85 |
| Remaining cards where contact attempted with liable parent | 888 |
| New contact details updated | 300 |
| Existing contact details confirmed | 191 |
| Contact details not useful | 397 |
An audit on the operation of this programme found that there are effective controls in place and no issues were identified.
Compliance: Compliant.
Technical information
| Information matching provision | Customs and Excise Act 1996, s.280K |
| Year authorised | 2007 |
| Programme type | Locating people |
| Unique identifiers | Tax File Number |
| On-line transfers | Yes |
System description
This programme involves a two-way exchange of information between IR and Customs using near real-time business to business (B2B) encrypted communications.
IR sends the full name, date of birth, and IRD number of individuals who are in serious default[1] of their child support obligations to Customs for storage in either a Person of Interest (POI) list or an Alert (ALS) list. Selection for the POI or ALS list is determined primarily by the level of child support debt involved, with the highest value debtors included on the ALS list.
The matching process for the POI list involves a character-by-character comparison of the family name, given names (and any aliases), and date of birth. Customs supplies POI information to IR where there is an exact match result between information on the POI list and passenger movement information generated when an individual passes through Customs.
For matched individuals, Customs supplies IR their full name, date of birth, and IRD number, along with the date, time and direction of travel, including New Zealand port and prime overseas port (last port of call for arrivals and first port of call for departures). Customs POI information is automatically added into the IR's administrative records and an email is sent to a generic email address for further action by Child Support Officers.
The matching process for the ALS list uses the Customs standard matching process that converts names into an alpha-numeric code. An ALS list alert is generated for "A" level match results which require a 91-100% match outcome based on a weighting system.
When an ALS list alert occurs, Customs supplies IR the same information as in the POI process above, and also include the match outcome rating achieved. In addition to the electronic alert information provided for ALS matches, Customs fax a copy of the front side of the arrival card.
All ALS alert results provided by Customs are sent to a holding file to await verification by a Child Support Officer before the information is updated into IR's administrative records. Action taken as a result of the information received from Customs is governed by IR policy. All avenues available to Child Support Officers are used in an attempt to make contact and obtain payment. Only in exceptional cases would an arrest warrant be applied for to enforce payment.
No notice of adverse action is sent for this programme. A legislative amendment to section 103 of the Privacy Act (s.103 (1c)), enacted alongside the legislation authorising this programme allows IR to initiate adverse action without sending a notice of adverse action. The rationale to forego sending a notice is that were a notice be provided to a liable parent, this may enable them to leave New Zealand earlier than originally planned, making enforcement action against the defaulter more difficult.
Historical activity
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
| Possible matches identified | 6,928 | 6,042 |
| Arrival cards received for liable parents | 1,219 | 1,440 |
| Cards which did not meet the matching criteria | 22 | 55 |
| Cards illegible or incomplete | Not reported | 178 |
| Remaining cards where contact attempted with liable parent | 917 | 860 |
| New contact details updated | 394 | 465 |
| Existing contact details confirmed | 332 | 160 |
| Contact details not useful | 191 | 235 |
[1] Serious default means having an amount of financial support debt due and owing to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and satisfying criteria agreed by the Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner in consultation with the Chief Executive (Customs and Excise Act 1996, s.280J).