Explanatory STATEMENT
Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010
Proclamation
Subsection 2(1) of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010 (the Act) provides for the commencement of various provisions of the Act. Item 2 of the table in subsection 2(1) specifies that sections 3 to 56 of the Act commence on a single day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provisions do not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day the Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period. The Act received the Royal Assent on 30 November 2010.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 1 January 2011 as the day on which sections 3 to 56 of the Act commence.
Sections 3 to 56 contain the operative provisions of the Act to establish the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) to support Australian Health Ministers in tackling the complex and growing challenges of lifestyle risk factors causing preventable chronic conditions, notably obesity, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. The provisions specify the functions, governance and structure of the ANPHA, including the interaction with the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing (the Minister) and the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference (AHMC).
The ANPHA will be a statutory authority under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. A Chief Executive Officer will manage the ANPHA and will be directly accountable to the Minister for the financial management of the ANPHA, and to the AHMC, via the Minister, for the ANPHA’s performance against agreed strategic and operational plans. The ANPHA will have an Advisory Council comprising between seven and 11 members with preventive health expertise.
The Council of Australian Governments agreed to establish the ANPHA in November 2008, as part of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.