Privacy waiver sought to stem prisoners' payments

The Ministry of Social Development wants the Privacy Commissioner to waive a 10-day consultation period for inmates to confirm they are beneficiaries.

The 10 days, required under the Privacy Act, allowed prison inmates to be overpaid more than $1.8 million in benefit payments last year.

Social Development Ministry figures show 3762 of about 6500 inmates in the country wrongly received a benefit while in prison.

The figures were released by Social Development Minister Steve Maharey in answer to written parliamentary questions and showed 54 per cent of the 3762 received the unemployment benefit and 22 per cent the sickness benefit.

Mr Maharey told NZPA the payments were picked up by a data-matching system but Privacy Act considerations, whereby prisoners were given 10 days to confirm they were the person in question, meant it took an average of 13 days to stop the benefit.

That led to average overpayments of $494.78 per inmate, which was required to be repaid at a minimum of $10 a week once the prisoner was released.

Mr Maharey said he asked the department yesterday to contact the Privacy Commissioner asking for the 10-day period to be waived.

"In prison it's hard to see how there can be any confusion - the person is in prison and the prison has sent us the information," he told NZPA.

"If he doesn't give me a waiver I'm going to see a clause in a piece of legislation that will pass through the House this year which will change it.

"It would mean that the prison telling us would be taken as evidence that the person is the [right] person."

Mr Maharey said he had been aware of the problem for several years.

National MP Tony Ryall had accused the Government of putting prisoners' rights ahead of those of the taxpayer and the community.

"First we have prisoners suing for hurt feelings and now we have them getting the sickness benefit after being convicted of all sorts of crimes," Mr Ryall said.

"Criminals should lose their welfare benefits the day they arrive in prison."

Act deputy leader Muriel Newman said: "No one will accept for a moment that issues around the Privacy Act mean it takes weeks for benefits to get cut."

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff said in a statement to NZPA that discussions were under way with ministry officials and her office.

Under the act, a person had to be told in writing that a match had occurred and had five working days - plus four days for mailing - in which to respond and notify the department of any errors.

"This is an important provision in the interests of natural justice," she said.

The commissioner said she did not have the power under the act to waive the statutory requirements.

An amendment to the legislation would be necessary to alter the commissioner's powers or the timeframe set down in relation to the data-matching provisions of the Privacy Act.

- NZPA