Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let me illuminate you further on the benefits of the access card. There are three areas that we are worried about with personal information: personal earnings, taxation information and, of course, public welfare information. The access card is primarily merely about identification verification to access government services. From 2010, one will have to present that card in order to access those taxpayer funded services.

But on the EFTPOS platform there is an enormous amount of potential for the future. It is a multi-application platform. It offers the chance to streamline medical billing within general practices, which is something that holds an enormous amount of promise. We will be able to streamline the interaction with the medical system at the doctor’s desk. That still needs to be worked out. We already have the HIC online system rolled out to nearly 70 per cent of GPs, but it still has a low take-up. One of the key reasons is the lack of banking details held by doctors and, of course, the patient’s ability to remember their own banking details. So that is one element where HIC online could work more effectively. (Time expired)

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