EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1982 NO 221
ISSUED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AIR FORCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The Air Force Regulations, made under the Air Force Act, prescribe financial conditions of service for the Air Force.
Members of the Air Force receive free medical and dental treatment to maintain the level of health and fitness required for Air Force service.
Despite this entitlement, it is the practice to recover the costs of treatment where the necessity for the treatment arose in circumstances which give a member a legal claim against another person (eg, a motor vehicle accident).
In such cases, a determination is made under Air Force Regulation 632A requiring the member to repay the cost of the treatment. The member then includes the amount of the determination in his claim.
In practice, where a member has such a claim, the member is not required to repay to the Commonwealth the costs incurred on his behalf unless and until he receives damages in respect of his medical expenses.
Where the medical treatment is provided by a non-Commonwealth hospital, the cost to be recovered by the Commonwealth is established by the account or accounts rendered by the hospital.
However, where a member receives treatment at a Repatriation hospital or a Defence Force hospital, it is not possible to identify the exact amount which the Commonwealth has spent on a particular patient. The cost of medical treatment in these situations has been assessed at an average daily rate which includes the cost to the hospital of providing medical treatment as well as a proportion of normal hospital running costs.
Where legal proceedings are taken in these circumstances, difficulties have been encountered in proving that the amount which a member is liable to repay to the Commonwealth does not exceed the expense incurred by the Commonwealth.
The Attorney-General’s Department suggested that this difficulty of proof could best be overcome by prescribing a scale of rates which would be deemed to be the cost of a member’s treatment in a Defence Force or Repatriation hospital.
This Statutory Rule amends regulation 632A of the Air Force Regulations to achieve that result.
The rates adopted are those prepared by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for internal costing purposes, showing the cost per bed day per patient in the Repatriation hospitals in the various States. Each set of rates covers a 12 month period. The rates cover periods of treatment after 1 July 1975.
Regulation 2 of the Statutory Rule makes three amendments to regulation 632A.
The first amendment provides that the Minister may require a member who has been provided with medical treatment at a Defence Force or Repatriation hospital in a State to pay to the Commonwealth an amount calculated in accordance with a Schedule to the Regulations in respect of the number of days he was an in-patient and the State in which the hospital is situated.
The second amendment makes clear that the provisions cover persons who received hospital, medical or other treatment at the expense of the Commonwealth and who have since ceased to be members of the Defence Force.
The third amendment provides for the day on which a member enters hospital and the day he leaves to be treated as a single day for the purposes of counting the number of days a member is an in-patient.
Regulation 3 of the Statutory Rule inserts a Schedule incorporating the rates.
Regulation 1 of the Statutory Rule also makes minor changes to the definition of medical treatment to ensure that dental treatment as well as hospital treatment is included and to make the definitions more consistent.
The Statutory Rule has effect from the date of gazettal.
Overview
The Air Force Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1982 No 221 were enacted to address the issue of recovering costs of medical treatment for Air Force members in situations where they have a legal claim against another person for the same treatment. The problem arose from the difficulty in proving the exact amount a member should repay to the Commonwealth, especially in cases involving treatment at Defence Force or Repatriation hospitals where the exact costs were not easily identifiable. This legislation, issued under the authority of the Minister for Defence, was enacted by the Australian Parliament to amend the Air Force Regulations made under the Air Force Act. The policy objective was to simplify the process of determining the amount a member should repay by prescribing a scale of rates for medical treatment at Defence Force and Repatriation hospitals. This approach ensures that the member's liability does not exceed the Commonwealth's actual expense incurred.
Scope and Application
The Air Force Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1982 No. 221, issued under the authority of the Minister for Defence, modify the financial conditions of service for members of the Australian Defence Force Air Force. This amendment applies to members of the Air Force who have received medical treatment, including hospital, medical, or dental treatment, at the expense of the Commonwealth and includes those who have since ceased to be members of the Defence Force. The primary purpose of this amendment is to address the difficulty in proving the exact amount that a member is liable to repay to the Commonwealth for treatment provided by Defence Force or Repatriation hospitals, where an exact cost cannot be identified. The amendment achieves this by prescribing a scale of rates based on the cost per bed day per patient in Repatriation hospitals, which will be deemed to be the cost of a member’s treatment in these hospitals. This Statutory Rule applies nationally, as it is issued under the Commonwealth authority and pertains to the Air Force, a federal entity. The rules are effective from the date of gazettal, and no exclusions or exemptions are explicitly stated in the text provided.
Key Provisions
The key operative sections of the Statutory Rule involve amendments to regulation 632A of the Air Force Regulations, as outlined in Regulation 2. Regulation 632A (2) now permits the Minister to require members who received medical treatment at a Defence Force or Repatriation hospital to repay the Commonwealth an amount based on a prescribed scale of rates. This scale, detailed in the Schedule to the Regulations, is calculated according to the number of days the member was an in-patient and the state in which the hospital is located. Regulation 632A (3) clarifies that these provisions apply to individuals who have received treatment at the expense of the Commonwealth and have subsequently ceased to be members of the Defence Force. Regulation 632A (4) stipulates that the day a member enters the hospital and the day they leave are to be treated as a single day when counting the number of days of in-patient treatment. Regulation 1 amends the definition of medical treatment to include dental treatment and to make the definitions more consistent across the regulations.
The Act imposes several obligations on the parties involved. Members who have received medical treatment at a Defence Force or Repatriation hospital are required to repay the Commonwealth an amount calculated in accordance with the prescribed scale of rates. This repayment is contingent on the member receiving damages in respect of their medical expenses. The Act also mandates that the Minister may require such repayment from individuals who have ceased to be members of the Defence Force but received treatment at the Commonwealth's expense. Furthermore, the Act specifies that the day of admission and the day of discharge from the hospital are to be counted as a single day for determining the number of in-patient days.
For breaches of the provisions outlined in the Statutory Rule, specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences are not detailed within the text. However, given the nature of the statutory rules and the requirement to repay costs, non-compliance could potentially lead to legal action or administrative penalties imposed by the relevant authorities. The exact penalties would depend on the context and the severity of the breach, as determined by the applicable legal framework.