Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, , 48:15 to 50:59
Officials discuss the removal of credit card surcharges within the department and portfolio entities following a Department of Finance directive.
Topics: Government spending, Efficiency dividend
Speakers: Senator The Hon Sarah Henderson, Ms Jodie George, Mr Jim Betts, Unknown Speaker
What payments does your department and its portfolio entities accept by card, such as fees, charges, fines, licences and applications? And do you have the total value of card payments and the merchant fees on them in the 25-26 year?
Okay, we'll see if we have that information. We may need to take some of the detail of that on notice.
And also I'm just keen to understand, Mr. Betts, since the 1st of October, has your department absorbed merchant fees, stopped accepting any card types or changed its fees or charges?
I probably will take it if there's detail which we can't provide now, we will take it on notice and come back to you as soon as we can. But I'll hand over to our Chief Finance Officer and the Assistant Secretary with Jodie George.
Is your Department considering I appreciate you looking for that information? Is your Department considering following the ATO and stopping credit card acceptance? And if so, could you describe which payments and when that would come into effect?
We would be complying with any guidance or directions which were issued by the Department of Finance, I imagine, but I'll ask the team to respond.
Jodie George, Assistant Secretary, Financial Management Branch. So I can confirm that the Department has put in place the required and appropriate actions in response to the requirements to remove credit card surcharges from the 1st of October. We only have one area within the Department that has previously passed on the credit card surcharges. That's Artbank for 2526 that totaled 4,983. And the department's made the decision to absorb those costs going forward. That's correct. We do have other credit card facilities available. However, we don't pass those surcharges on and we haven't in the past.
So home affairs has said it removes surcharges under a government directive. And that was apparently a directive from the Department of Finance. You haven't received that same directive?
To remove surcharges? Yeah. We have received that directive yet.
Oh, I'm sorry.
And we have removed those surprises.
Oh, you okay, so you've apologies that came from the Department of Finance Directive. Okay. And so have you not you haven't sought any funding to make up the difference?
No, I have not.
No, yeah, no, that's true. No, that's true. All right. Well, look, thank you very much. I do appreciate that. At that point, I might just see the call.