National Welfare Fund 01/01/1946 (7.5% levy) Like to know What happened to the fund and all the money accumulated.
Gino Iannazzo made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the Treasury
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Department of the Treasury,
My name is Gino Iannazzo, I'm the secretary of "Australian Pensioners Voice Inc." a group of voluntaries dedicated to stand up for Social Justice and Pensioners' Rights. Recently we found out that back on 01/01/1946 the Prime Minister Ben Chiefly, agreed to established "THE NATIONAL WELFARE FUND" by charging all Taxpayers a compulsory levy of 7.5%.
In the 50's was paid as one amount strait into the "CONSOLIDATED REVENUE ACCOUNT"
In 1985 under the Labor Government the Fund ceased to Exist yet the 7.5% levy continued to be collected as a proportion of the Income Tax Revenue.
We like to know what happened to the Fund and all the money accumulated and belonging to "THE AUSTRALIAN PENSIONERS"
Yours faithfully,
Gino Iannazzo
Mr Iannazzo
I refer to your email below of 10 October 2015 in which you sought access
to information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), in
particular:
"THE NATIONAL WELFARE FUND" by charging all Taxpayers a compulsory levy of
7.5%.
In the 50's was paid as one amount strait into the "CONSOLIDATED REVENUE
ACCOUNT
In 1985 under the Labor Government the Fund ceased to Exist yet the 7.5%
levy continued to be collected as a proportion of the Income Tax Revenue.
We like to know what happened to the Fund and all the money accumulated
and belonging to "THE AUSTRALIAN PENSIONERS"“.
Subsection 15(1) of the FOI Act states that ‘…a person who wishes to
obtain access to a document of an agency or an official document of a
Minister may request access to the document (our emphasis). The Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner guidelines state that ‘the right
of access is to existing documents, rather than to information’ (paragraph
3.12 refers). Your request does not satisfy the requirement in section 15
as the request is for information and not a document.
Under paragraph 15(3)(b) of the FOI Act, we are offering you assistance to
clarify your request. Please clarify your request by return email or by
calling us on the below number.
If we do not hear from you within 14 days, we will deem your FOI request
withdrawn.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Parliamentary & Legal Services Unit
The Treasury, Langton Crescent, Parkes ACT 2600
phone: (02) 6263 2800
fax: (02) 6263 4320
email: [1][email address]
Dear FOI,
Please, the documentation that I'm after are:"NATIONAL WELFARE FUND REPEAL ACT 1985 No, 24, 1985" -C2004A03063
Plus the following Acts:
National Welfare Fund Act 1943
National Welfare Fund Act 1945
National Welfare Fund Act 1950
National Welfare Fund Act 1952
Yours sincerely,
Gino Iannazzo
Dear FOI,
Please, I kindly remand the Department of Treasury an answer to my request.
Best Regards
Yours sincerely,
Gino Iannazzo
Dear Mr Iannazzo,
Thank you for your email of 13 November 2015 regarding your FOI request. Your email of 13 October 2015 clarified that the documents you are requesting are the following:
National Welfare Fund Repeal Act 1985 No, 24, 1985
National Welfare Fund Act 1943
National Welfare Fund Act 1945
National Welfare Fund Act 1950
National Welfare Fund Act 1952
All of the documents that you have requested are publicly available on ComLaw via the following links:
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2004A03063
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C1943A00012
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C1945A00041
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C1950A00052
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C1952A00065
We have been advised by the relevant Treasury Policy area that the predecessor of the Department of Social Services was primary department responsible for National Welfare Fund matters at the time. You may wish to approach the Department of Social Services at [email address].
Kind regards
FOI Team
Parliamentary & Legal Services Unit
The Treasury, Langton Crescent, Parkes ACT 2600
phone: (02) 6263 2800
fax: (02) 6263 4320
email: [email address]
Paul Johanson left an annotation ()
Bob Dapre
The report you co-sponsored, does not address the issue of the compulsory contributions made under the National Welfare Fund. Were they repealed when the Act was repealed? reducing income tax, or have they continued, as seems very likely to me, to be collected but hidden in the single tax assessment? so as to disguise their collection.
yours
Paul Johanson
Paul.e.johanson@gmail.com
Brett Wilson left an annotation ()
This might require a Royal Commission to get to the bottom of any unlawful act the government might have done with misappropriation of these funds that may have been done beyond their power and authority?
Tracey Hoolachan left an annotation ()
This link is for a brochure 1941 Social Security & Reconstruction it has the early history
https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE...
This link is a recent review https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/...
Bob Daprè left an annotation ()
The full history of the National Welfare Fund is covered in a July 1995 report 'Financing Social Security Payments: The Australian Experience' of the (then) Department of Social Security. It is Policy Research Paper No. 68.It was co-authored by me (Bob Daprè) and David Stanton. This report is available on the Internet. The present Department of Social Services may have spare copies.
Bob Daprè
Phone 02.62885130
Email dapre@netspeed.com.au