Answers to Questions

Cost of Living Concession

258 Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (27 September 2016). In reference to 2016-17 Budget Paper 4, Volume 1, page 95—how will the $12 million in additional expenditure be spent on the full automation of the new Cost of Living Concession in 2016-17?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers): I have been advised:

Of the $12 million announced by the Treasurer, $1.4 million is additional funding for the full automation of the Cost of Living Information System (COLIN) which is used to administer the Cost of Living Concession (COLC). The remaining additional funding is for staffing and administrative costs of the COLC over the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.

The $1.4 million additional funding will provide for the automation of certain functions, including:

Correspondence module

Work flow control module

Upgrade of Centrelink characteristics to enable automated checking of Low Income Health Care Cards

Data warehouse and reporting facility

Customer portal.

The additional $1.4 million allocated for the COLIN system brings the total project funding to $3.6 million, excluding ongoing support costs.