Declaration of Quality Assurance Activity under section 124X of the Health Insurance Act 1973 – QAA 3/2016

Administered by Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Legislation au F2016L00848 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF

THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973

DECLARATION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE ACTIVITY

UNDER SECTION 124X

QAA No.  3/2016

 

Part VC of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) creates a scheme to encourage efficient quality assurance activities.  Those activities help to ensure the quality of health services that are funded by the Government, through Medicare benefits, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Public Hospitals and/or Health Program Grants.  The scheme encourages participation in such activities by protecting certain information from disclosure, and also by providing some protection from civil liability to certain persons engaged in those activities in good faith, in respect of those activities. 

In order for Part VC to apply to an activity, the Minister must make a Declaration pursuant to Section 124X of the Act, that the activity described in the Declaration is a quality assurance activity to which Part VC applies.  Regulations 23C to 23G of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 (the Regulations) set out the public interest criteria that must be met by quality assurance activities in order to be declared under the section 124X.

 

The Declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.  This Declaration has effect from the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.  Section 124X(4) of the Act prescribes that, unless sooner revoked, this determination ceases to be in force at the end of 5 years after the instrument of declaration was signed. 

 

This declaration under subsection 124X(1) applies Part VC of the Act to the following activity:

 

  1. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) - Portfolio

 

An overview of the activity for which the Declaration pursuant to s124X is made is contained in Attachment A.

Before the Minister can make a declaration, certain requirements must be met.

Firstly, the Minister must be satisfied that the persons engaged in the activity are authorised to do so as described in paragraph 124X(3)(a) of the Act.


The activity meets the requirements of paragraph 124X (3)(a) in that the persons engaged in this activity are authorised to do so by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, which is an association of health professionals and an educational institution

Secondly, paragraph 124X (3)(b) of the Act provides that the Minister must be satisfied that it is in the public interest to have Part VC of the Act apply to the activity. In doing so, the Minister must have regard to criteria prescribed by the Regulations. The criteria relevant to the activity are in regulations 23C, 23D and 23E or 23F.

The activity meets the criteria as follows:

  • As required by regulation 23C, the activity includes the disclosure of non-identifying information that concerns the quality of service assessed, evaluated or studied. Information on this Activity may be found at: http://www.surgeons.org/news/racs-portfolio-release.
  • Regulation 23D does not apply as the activity will be undertaken in more than one State or Territory.
  • Regulation 23E does not apply as the activity has previously been engaged in Australia.
  • Regulation 23F applies as the activity has previously been carried out in Australia. The Minister’s declaration will encourage full participation in the activity by persons who provide health services by providing participants with a greater degree of confidence and security that their participation is solely to the benefit of establishing and improving quality assurance.
  • Regulation 23G does not apply as the activity does not include the assessment or evaluation by a person of the services, skill or performance of a health practitioner for the purpose of determining the health care practitioner’s clinical practicing rights.

 

CONSULTATION

 

This included an assessment of the potential value of declaring the activity as a quality assurance activity for the purposes of the Act, the methodology used to conduct the activity, and whether the application met the criteria required for declaration. Those consulted including Department of Health’s Principal Medical Advisor, Doctor Andrew Singer.

 

The declaration of this activity will not result in any direct or substantial indirect

effect on business.

 

The Declaration comes into operation on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

As provided by subsection 124X(4) a declaration ceases to be in force at the end of 5 years after the instrument of declaration is signed, unless revoked earlier.

 

QAA No. 3/2016

ATTACHMENT A

OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY

1. PURPOSE OF ACTIVITY

The RACS Portfolio is where a learner reflects on individual performance, reviews feedback from others, audit aspects of the clinical performance, and maintains a life-long learning plans as part of this quality assurance activity.

The purpose of this activity is to provide each learner with the opportunity to reflect, review feedback from the workplace and audit aspect of the clinical performance and personal attributes through a variety of methods.

The objectives of the activity are:

  • to ensure that high standards of clinical practice are maintained through regular participation in learner initiated reflection;
  • to encourage a culture of self-directed learning based on feedback that is an open and honest review of individual’s practice skills and competencies;
  • to encourage other healthcare professionals to participate in the multi-source 360 degree feedback process, which provides a multifaceted view of the individuals skills based on the nine racks competencies; and
  • to demonstrate the accountability of the racks to the community by monitoring a participation and evaluating the effectiveness of our learning resources, activities and educational outcomes.

 


 

 

 

Overview

The Health Insurance Act 1973 was enacted to provide a scheme for health insurance in Australia, and was subsequently amended to include quality assurance activities under Part VC. This part was introduced to address the need for efficient quality assurance activities in health services funded by the government, through mechanisms such as Medicare benefits and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The Australian Parliament is the enacting body, with the policy objective being to encourage participation in quality assurance activities by offering protection from disclosure of certain information and from civil liability to those engaged in these activities in good faith. This particular declaration under section 124X applies Part VC to the quality assurance activity of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Portfolio, which aims to ensure high standards of clinical practice and encourage a culture of self-directed learning among health professionals. The declaration, which comes into effect after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, will cease to be in force five years after the instrument of declaration was signed unless revoked earlier.

Scope and Application

The Health Insurance Act 1973, specifically under Part VC, provides a scheme designed to facilitate efficient quality assurance activities that focus on ensuring the quality of health services funded by the government through Medicare benefits, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, public hospitals, and health program grants. This scheme operates by safeguarding certain information from disclosure and offering protection from civil liability to individuals involved in these activities, provided they act in good faith. For Part VC to apply to any activity, the Minister must declare, pursuant to Section 124X, that the activity in question is a quality assurance activity covered by the Act. This declaration is subject to public interest criteria outlined in Regulations 23C to 23G of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975. The declaration applies to the quality assurance activity undertaken by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), an association of health professionals and an educational institution, which engages in a portfolio activity that involves learners reflecting on their performance, reviewing feedback, and maintaining lifelong learning plans. The activity is deemed to be in the public interest, encouraging participation by providing assurance that involvement is for the sole purpose of improving quality assurance. The declaration is in effect from the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and will remain in force for five years unless revoked earlier.

Key Provisions

The Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) under Section 124X allows for the declaration of quality assurance activities that protect certain information from disclosure and provide some protection from civil liability to certain persons engaged in these activities in good faith. Section 124X(3)(a) requires that the persons engaged in the activity must be authorised to do so, which, in this case, is fulfilled by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), an association of health professionals and an educational institution. Section 124X(3)(b) mandates that the Minister must be satisfied that it is in the public interest to apply Part VC of the Act to the activity, considering the criteria prescribed in the Regulations. Regulations 23C to 23G detail the public interest criteria for quality assurance activities. The RACS Portfolio activity, as described in Attachment A, involves a learner reflecting on individual performance, reviewing feedback, auditing clinical performance, and maintaining a lifelong learning plan. This activity aims to ensure high standards of clinical practice, encourage self-directed learning, involve other healthcare professionals in a multi-source feedback process, and demonstrate the accountability of RACS to the community. The Minister’s declaration under Section 124X will provide participants with confidence and security, thus encouraging full participation in the activity. The obligations imposed by the Act on the parties involved primarily centre around ensuring that the quality assurance activity aligns with the requirements set out in Section 124X and the Regulations. RACS and the participants must ensure that the activity meets the authorisation and public interest criteria, and that the information disclosed is appropriately protected from disclosure. The Minister's role includes making a declaration that satisfies the statutory requirements, ensuring the activity is beneficial to the public interest. There are potential consequences for breaches of the Act or the Regulations. While the explanatory statement does not detail specific offences or penalties, breaches of the Act generally may lead to civil or criminal liability. In the context of quality assurance activities, unauthorised disclosure of protected information could result in civil penalties, including fines, or criminal charges if the breach is deemed serious. The maximum penalties are not specified in the explanatory statement but would depend on the nature and severity of the breach. The declaration itself is set to cease after five years unless earlier revoked, underscoring the importance of compliance within the stipulated timeframe.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.