Health Insurance Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4) (Cth)

Health Insurance Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4)¹

Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 294

I, QUENTIN BRYCE, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulation under the Health Insurance Act 1973.

Dated 6 December 2012

QUENTIN BRYCE

Governor-General

By Her Excellency’s Command

TANYA PLIBERSEK

Minister for Health

1. Name of regulation

This regulation is the Health Insurance Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4).

1. Commencement

This regulation commences on 27 December 2012.

1. Amendment of Health Insurance Regulations 1975

Schedule 1 amends the Health Insurance Regulations 1975.

Schedule 1          Amendments

(section 3)

[1]          Regulation 29, heading

substitute

1. Manner of patient referrals

[2]          Subregulation 29 (1)

substitute

(1)For section 132A of the Act, this regulation and regulations 30 and 31 set out the manner in which a patient is to be referred by a referring practitioner to another practitioner for the purposes of:

(a)an item in the general medical services table; or

(b)an item in a determination made under subsection 3C (1) of the Act;

specifying a service to be rendered by a specialist or consultant physician, in the practice of his or her speciality, to a patient referred to the specialist or consultant physician.

[3]          Regulation 31, heading

substitute

1. Period of validity for referrals

[4]          Subregulation 31 (1)

omit

Subject to subregulations (1A), (1B) and (1C), a referral given under regulation 29 is valid:

insert

Unless the period of validity for a referral is otherwise provided for in this regulation, the referral may state a period for which it remains valid and it will remain valid:

Note

1. All legislative instruments and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See