A Bill for an Act to amend the Australian Passports Act 2005, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Australian Passports Amendment (Identity‑matching Services) Act 2018.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Australian Passports Act 2005
1 After paragraph 46(d)
Insert:
(da) participating in a service, specified or of a kind specified in the Minister’s determination, to share or match information relating to the identity of a person;
2 Application of amendments
The amendments of section 46 of the Australian Passports Act 2005 made by this Schedule apply in relation to any information disclosed after the commencement of this item (whether the information was obtained before or after that commencement).
3 After section 56
Insert:
56A Minister may arrange for use of computer programs to make decisions
(1) The Minister may arrange for the use, under the Minister’s control, of computer programs for any purposes for which the Minister may, or must, under this Act or a legislative instrument made for the purposes of this Act:
(a) make a decision; or
(b) exercise any power or comply with any obligation; or
(c) do anything else related to making a decision or exercising a power or complying with an obligation.
(2) For the purposes of this Act or the legislative instrument, the Minister is taken to have:
(a) made a decision; or
(b) exercised a power or complied with an obligation; or
(c) done something else related to the making of a decision or the exercise of a power or the compliance with an obligation;
that was made, exercised, complied with or done by the operation of a computer program under an arrangement made under subsection (1).
Substituted decisions
(3) The Minister may, under a provision of this Act or of the legislative instrument, make a decision in substitution for a decision the Minister is taken to have made under paragraph (2)(a) if the Minister is satisfied that the decision made by the operation of the computer program is incorrect.
Note: For review of a decision made in substitution, see Division 3 of Part 5.
(4) Subsection (3) does not limit Division 3 of Part 5 (review of decisions about Australian travel documents).
4 Application of amendments
Section 56A of the Australian Passports Act 2005, as inserted by this Schedule, applies in relation to any thing done after the commencement of this item.