11. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 247B (inserted by section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011):

“Disqualification from receipt of benefit where identity not authenticated

247C.(1) The Minister may give notice to any person receiving a benefit requesting the person, at the time specified in the notice, to satisfy the Minister as to his or her identity.

(2) A person shall be disqualified from receiving any benefit, including any increase in that benefit, for any week or part of a week, commencing after the time specified in the notice under subsection (1), or any time thereafter as may be determined by the Minister and notified to the person, during which that person fails to satisfy the Minister as to his or her identity.

(3) A notice under subsection (1) may require the person to whom it is given to do one or more than one of the following, as the Minister considers appropriate, at the time specified in the notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by the Minister and notified to the person:

(a) attend at an office of the Minister or such other place as the Minister may designate as appropriate;

(b) provide to the Minister, at that office or other designated place, such information and to produce any document to the Minister as the Minister may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of that person;

(c) allow a photograph or other record of an image of that person to be taken, at that office or other designated place, in electronic form, for the purposes of the authentication, by the Minister, at any time, of the identity of that person;

(d) provide, at that office or other designated place, a sample of his or her signature in electronic form for the purposes of the authentication, by the Minister, at any time, of the identity of that person.

(4) The Minister shall retain in electronic form—

(a) any photograph or other record of an image of a person taken under subsection (3)(c), and

(b) any signature provided under subsection (3)(d),

in such manner that allows such photograph, other record or signature to be reproduced by electronic means.

(5) This section shall not be construed as preventing the Minister from using a method of authentication of the identity of a person in receipt of benefit, other than a method referred to in this section, which the Minister considers appropriate to use.”.