Hon Anne Tolley
Minister for Social Development
Hon Michael Woodhouse
Minister of Revenue
17 November 2016
Media statement
Feedback sought on MSD/IRD info sharing
Eligibility for housing assistance and student allowances could be established more accurately under information sharing proposals released for public consultation today by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.
Information sharing already exists between IRD and MSD, but the Government is proposing to group the various current information sharing agreements into one.
The proposals also extend the use of information to enable MSD to:
- provide targeted housing assistance to those in need
- verify a student’s and their parents’ income for assessing student allowance entitlements.
“Under the proposals, MSD will be able to verify who qualifies for social housing support through IRD, rather than having to talk to the employer as they do currently,” Ms Tolley says.
“MSD will also be able to verify the information students provide for student allowance purposes against information IRD already holds, making the process a lot smoother.”
Mr Woodhouse says IRD holds an immense amount of information such as contact details and income which is shared for specific purposes.
“Widening some of the purposes for sharing information has the potential to improve customer service and make processes quicker and easier for both customers and government agencies,” Mr Woodhouse says.
The discussion document Information sharing between Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development can be found at www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz. Submissions close on 16 December 2016.