Census (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 10/1990

Read the first time on 2nd March 1990.

An Act to amend the Census Act (Chapter 35 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Census (Amendment) Act 1990 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Census Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the definition of “census officer”, the following definition:

“ “competent authority” means any public officer or any statutory body established by or under any written law or any officer thereof, being under any obligation imposed by any written law to observe secrecy in respect of any particulars or information obtained by the public officer or the statutory body or officer thereof in the administration of that written law;”.

New section 12A

3. The Census Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 12, the following section:

“Request for information from competent authorities

12A.—(1) The Superintendent may, for the purposes of a census, in writing direct any competent authority specified in the first column of the First Schedule to furnish or supply to him any particulars or information obtained by the competent authority under the written law specified in the second column of the First Schedule and, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law, the competent authority shall furnish and supply those particulars and information within such time as may be agreed to by the Superintendent and the competent authority.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or any other written law, no person shall be guilty of an offence under this Act or that other written law or of any breach of confidence by virtue merely of his disclosing any particulars or information to the Superintendent pursuant to any direction under subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any particulars or information obtained under any written law relating to taxation or administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.”.

New section 16A

4. The Census Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 16, the following section:

“Disclosure of census information

16A.—(1) Notwithstanding section 16, the Superintendent or any census officer authorised by him in writing may, on the written request of a responsible officer of any public authority specified in the Second Schedule, disclose on a confidential basis any particulars or information relating to any individual person obtained under the provisions of this Act to the public authority if —

(a)	those particulars or information could also have been obtained by the public authority under any other written law; and
(b)	in any case where the particulars or information have been obtained from a competent authority under section 12A, that competent authority consents in writing to such disclosure.

(2) The Superintendent or any census officer authorised by him in writing shall not be guilty of any offence under any written law or of any breach of confidence by virtue merely of his disclosing any particulars or information in accordance with this section.

(3) No person employed in or by a public authority to which any particulars or information have been disclosed under subsection (1) shall use any such particulars or information for the purpose of enforcing any obligation or liability applicable under any written law.

(4) Any person employed in or by a public authority to which any particulars or information have been disclosed under subsection (1) who without the written approval of the Superintendent, or in breach of any condition of such approval, discloses any such particulars or information shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

(5) In this section —

“public authority” includes a Government department or ministry;

“responsible officer”, in relation to a public authority, means an officer designated by the Minister by notification in the Gazette as a responsible officer thereof for the purposes of this section.”.

Amendment of section 17

5. Section 17 of the Census Act is amended by deleting “$500” and substituting “$1,000”.

Amendment of section 18

6. Section 18 of the Census Act is amended by deleting “$500” and substituting “$1,000”.

New section 22A

7. The Census Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 22, the following section:

“Amendment of Schedules

22A.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, amend the First or Second Schedule.

(2) The Minister shall not insert or delete and substitute any written law in the First Schedule without the approval of the Minister responsible for the competent authority administering that written law.”.

New Schedules

8. The Census Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 23, the following Schedules:

“FIRST SCHEDULE

Section 12A.

Competent Authorities

First column.

Second column.

Central Provident Fund Board.

Central Provident Fund Act. (Chapter 36)

SECOND SCHEDULE

Section 16A.

Central Provident Fund Board.”.

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