EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Australian Hearing Services Act 1991
DECLARED HEARING SERVICES AMENDMENT DETERMINATION 2007 (NO.1)
The purpose of this determination is to amend the Declared Hearing Services Determination 1997 (‘the principal determination’). The amendments maintain access to Australian Government Hearing Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who will no longer participate in the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) Program after 1 July 2007 as a result of changes to CDEP that aim to further improve employment opportunities and incentives for Indigenous Australians and build on the reforms implemented to date.
Subsection 8(1) of the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 (“the Act”) sets out the functions of Australian Hearing Services. These functions include the provision of declared hearing services to young Australians, referred Comcare clients, referred Commonwealth employees and designated persons. The term ‘designated person’ has the meaning given by subsection 12 of the Determination.
Subsection 8(7) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by writing, determine that a specified person is a ‘designated person’. Subsection 8(8) of the Act also allows the Minister to determine that a specified hearing service is a ‘declared hearing service’ in relation to designated persons.
Under Part 8 of Schedule 1 of the principal determination, declared hearing services include, among other things, free hearing assessments, rehabilitation, and the provision of free hearing devices if clinically necessary. The combined effect of section 8 of the Act and the determinations made under subsections 8(7) and 8(8) is that Australian Hearing Services is given the function of providing declared hearing services to people who are ‘designated persons’.
The principal determination provides that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who are:
(i) under 21; or
(ii) over 50; or
(iii) a participant in the CDEP Program; or
(iv) an eligible person under the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997
are ‘designated persons’.
The Declared Hearing Services Amendment Determination 2007 (No.1) (‘the determination’) expands the class of designated persons so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were participating in the CDEP Program between 1 December 2005 and
30 June 2007 will retain access to the Australian Government Hearing Services Program until 1 July 2012. The 2012 date reflects the five year expected life of a hearing device and is consistent with the already existing minor maintenance arrangements. The determination makes no change to the types of services that they would be eligible to receive.
The Department notes that the Determination has been registered with the commencement date of 1 July 2007. The Department considers that no person other than the Commonwealth will be adversely affected by the retrospective operation of the Determination.
CONSULTATION
No consultation was required as the amendment is of a minor nature and did not substantially alter existing arrangements.
The determination is a “legislative instrument” for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Details of the determination are set out in the Attachment.
The determination commences on 1 July 2007.
Attachment
NOTES ON SECTIONS
1. Name of Determination
This section provides that the determination may be cited as the Declared Hearing Services Amendment Determination 2007 (No 1).
2. Commencement
This section provides that the determination commences on 1 July 2007.
3. Amendment of Declared Hearing Services Determination 1997
This section provides that Schedule 1 of the determination amends the Declared Hearing Services Determination 1997.
SCHEDULE 1 AMENDMENTS
Item [1] expands the meaning of ‘designated persons’.
Item [2] end dates the expanded meaning of ‘designated person’.