Smart Card Changes Recommended
The Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee has released its report on the proposed national smart card and recommended a number of changed to the legislation, warning that the card could become a de facto identity card.
Its conclusions included that there had not been enough time to consider properly all the important and complex issues relating to the access card legislation. the bill should be judged by the two stated major objectives of the bill: facilitation of access to health and social services, and reduction of fraud against the Commonwealth. While it is recognised that certain groups of people may also find the card to be of convenience for accessing concessions, these are ancillary issues and should not be used to justify the architecture of the access card system.
The Government has agreed to consider the recommendations and promised to combine the two relevant pieces of legislation necessary for the introduction of the card to ensure that the public and other stakeholders can see the full details of the access card at the same time.
