DSS DEETYA HFS one-stop-shop

[Roger Clarke]

larocque@acslink.net.au enquired:
>Anybody know if the one stop shop is happening?  ...

"Ken CAMERON" <Ken.Cameron@dss.gov.au> replied:
>Re the query, is happening.  The agency will come into being in July 1997
>and re-badging is expected to take place at this point, subject to the
>passage
>of legislation.  Transfer of DEETYA functions will occur during
>July-September
>1997 and the agency is expected to be operational by December 1997.
>
>So far it primarily involves DSS and DEETYA. The only health involvement
>initially will be that the agency will do some means test assessments of
>non-pensioner nursing home clients.  There is certainly scope for it to
>include
>many other commonwealth functions.


The service aspects of this initiative are to be applauded - using IT in a
constructive manner to help the disadvantaged, etc.

The sceptics among us anticipate that the 'social service' function will
soon come to be dominated by the 'social control' function, i.e. the new
friendly face will turn sombre, and the new agency will become the vehicle
for yet more intrusive dataveillance as a means of catching whichever class
of miscreants are in vogue at the time ('dole-bludgers', 'dead-beat dads',
social security rorters, the well-to-do getting family allowance, and of
course 'the Wright family').

Ken, what privacy protections have been built into this exercise, in order
to protect the existing agencies' expanded and consolidated clientele from
the government monolith?

[If you feel that's a tough call, fair enough - this is a list of personal
participants not a Senate Select Committee / Spanish Inquisition;  but if
you'd prefer to pass, could you let us know where we should go to find out?]

Thanks  ...  Roger

P.S.  Research that I believe justifies the scepticism in this message can
be found, generally at:
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/

and more specifically at:
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/SLJ.html
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/PaperTFN.html
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/PaperMatchPDMP.html


Roger Clarke              http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Tel:  +61  6  288 1472, 288 6916    Fax:   +61  6  288 1472 (dodgy!)

Visiting Fellow, Faculty of          Email:  Roger.Clarke@anu.edu.au
    Engineering and Information Technology
Information Sciences Building Room 211       Tel:   +61  6  249 3666
The Australian National University
Canberra   ACT   0200   AUSTRALIA            Fax:   +61  6  249 0010