Digital Restart Fund Act 2020

This Act is the Digital Restart Fund Act 2020.

This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act.

In this Act—

function includes a power, authority or duty, and exercise a function includes perform a duty.

Fund means the Digital Restart Fund established under section 5.

government agency means—

a government sector agency within the meaning of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013, or

a statutory body representing the Crown, or

a State owned corporation, or

any other public authority constituted by or under an Act, or

any person or body declared by the regulations to be a government agency.

Note.

The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.

The object of this Act is to provide funding for digital and information and communications technology initiatives—

to improve the delivery of services by government agencies, including improving interactions between members of the public and government agencies involving digital and information and communications technology, and

to facilitate whole of government digital transformation, including upgrading and standardising systems and processes used by government agencies, and

to improve operational and cost efficiencies across the government sector.

A Digital Restart Fund is to be established in the Special Deposits Account.

The purpose of the Fund is to support digital and information and communications technology initiatives across the government sector, and for that purpose, to fund projects that—

develop and implement digital and information and communications technology products or services that, for the purpose of improving the delivery of services by government agencies and related interactions—

identify the actions required to be taken by an individual (or on the individual’s behalf) in respect of significant events during the individual’s life, and

record related interactions between the individual (or on the individual’s behalf) and government agencies or non-government entities or other bodies or persons connected with the delivery of services by a government agency, and

identify impediments to the delivery of related services by government agencies and develop and implement solutions to those impediments, or

develop and implement digital and information and communications technology products or services that are capable of being used by multiple government agencies in a cost effective manner, or

optimise existing technologies, applications, computer systems or processes used by government agencies to improve the functionality and operational life of those technologies, applications, computer systems or processes, or

provide persons employed in or by a government agency with education, training and information relating to digital and information and communications technology.

The Minister is to control and manage the Fund.

There is payable into the Fund the following—

all money appropriated by Parliament, or advanced by the Treasurer, for the purposes of payment into the Fund,

all money appropriated by Parliament to the Treasurer for the general purposes of the Government and directed by the Treasurer to be paid into the Fund,

the proceeds of the investment of money in the Fund,

all other money directed or authorised to be paid into the Fund by or under any Act or other law,

all money received from voluntary contributions to the Fund made by a government agency or other person or body.

To avoid doubt, money appropriated by Parliament before the commencement of this section for purposes that reflect the purpose of the Fund may be paid into the Fund.

Money paid into the Fund under subsection (2) is taken to have been appropriated out of the Consolidated Fund for the purposes of payment into the Fund.

Government agencies are authorised by this section to make voluntary contributions to the Fund.

There is payable from the Fund the following—

money required to fund all or part of the cost of a project that promotes the purpose of the Fund and is approved by the Minister on the recommendation of the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service,

money required to meet administrative expenses related to the Fund,

money directed or authorised to be paid from the Fund by or under this Act or any other Act or law.

Before approving the payment of money under section 9(a), the Minister must obtain and have regard to advice from the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner as to the effect, if any, that the project may have on—

access to government information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, and

the protection of personal information under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 or health information under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

The Minister may invest money in the Fund—

if the Minister is a GSF agency for the purposes of Part 6 of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018—in any way that the Minister is permitted to invest money under that Part, or

if the Minister is not a GSF agency for the purposes of Part 6 of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018—in any way approved by the Treasurer.

In this section, GSF agency has the same meaning as in the Government Sector Finance Act 2018.

Without limiting section 10, the Minister may also, in exercising functions under this Act, obtain and have regard to advice, recommendations or other information provided to the Minister by a person or body that the Minister considers relevant.