EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Rule 2025
Purpose
The Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Amendment (2025 Measures No.2) Rule 2025 (the instrument) amends the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Rule 2020 (the Principal Rule) to update the Principal Rule in line with the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) as it relates to the Bonded Medical Program (the Program). The amendments are also intended to clarify requirements relating to services performed at eligible locations, record-keeping and time frames for completion of the Program.
Authority
Subsection 124ZT(1) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules (the Bonded Medical Program rules) about matters that are required or permitted by Part VD of the Act to be prescribed by the rules, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to Part VD of the Act.
Reliance on subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901
Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.
Background
Part VD of the Act establishes the Program, which is an Australian Government initiative designed to address the doctor shortage across regional, rural and remote areas. Participants receive a Commonwealth Supported Place in a medical course at an Australian university in return for completion of a period of work in regional, rural and remote areas and areas of workforce shortage (referred to as the RoSO). Existing participants in the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme or the Bonded Medical Places Scheme may also voluntarily opt-in to the Bonded Medical Program and, if the Secretary agrees to their participation, they also become bonded participants.
The Principal Rule is made under subsection 124ZT(1) of the Act and provides the necessary details to support the operation of the Bonded Medical Program by prescribing certain matters.
The instrument makes a series of amendments to the Principal Rule. It includes a number of amendments including a definition of the Department’s web portal at section 4, a new definition for determining the start of the week and an amendment to provide that telehealth services need only be performed from an eligible location. The intention of these amendments is to provide clarity and reduce the administrative burden for bonded participants. To this end, amendments to clauses 15 and 16 clarify and significantly curtail the requirements for information to be provided to the Department by bonded participants in order for their RoSO to be assessed.
Additionally, the instrument amends sections 9 and 14 to update language to refer to “weeks” rather than “months’ or “years” to align with the language of the Act.
The instrument also makes various amendments to broaden the work which will be eligible to be counted to the bonded participant’s RoSO. It includes amendments to the definitions at section 4 to change “employed” to “engaged” to enable a greater amount of working relationships to be captured. Further, it amends section 8 to allow for additional eligible work to be recognised for those bonded participants who voluntarily opted into the Program and who had undertaken work that would not have previously counted as eligible work but would under the Rules if that work was conducted today. The intention is that this change allows bonded participants who opted into the Program greater opportunity to capture eligible work towards their RoSO.
The instrument amends the RoSO requirement for 12 month (or 52 week) RoSO bonded participants at subsection 9(4) to allow these bonded participants to complete their RoSO requirement in any configuration of days they prefer, so long as it is the equivalent hours of 52 weeks on a full-time basis. The intention is to allow these bonded participants greater flexibility in their working arrangements, whilst still completing the equivalent hours of the 12 months RoSO they committed to when opting in to the Program.
Lastly, the instrument inserts a new Part 5 to allow the Department to deem certain work to be eligible work in specific circumstances and where reasonable to do so. The power will arise where the Department has inadvertently advised a bonded participant that work would be eligible work under the Principal Rule but in fact such work does not otherwise meet the requirements for eligible work. This addresses the current gap in the legislation where the Department is unable to correct errors of this kind. It is considered desirable to enable the Department to rectify errors where bonded participants have relied on advice from the Department in completing work.
Commencement
The instrument commences on the day after the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Consultation
The Department meets with key stakeholders to ensure that they are informed and consulted about issues relevant to the administration of the Program. These amendments were summarised in a Discussion Paper which was sent to key stakeholders and published on the Department’s Consultation Hub website. The Consultation Hub website included a survey, open from 28 October 2025 to 10 November 2025, and a newsletter was sent to participants inviting them to provide feedback on the proposed changes. There were 339 respondents.
The Department conducted virtual and face to face meetings with the following stakeholders between 13 and 17 October 2025:
- Australian Medical Association
- Australian Medical Students Association
- Council of the Presidents of Medical Colleges
- National Rural Health Alliance
- National Rural Health Students Network
- Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner
- Rural Doctors Alliance Australia
- Rural Workforce Agencies
Stakeholders were supportive of the changes being recommended.
Attachment
A provision by provision description of the instrument is set out in the Attachment.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Rule 2025
Section 1 Name
Section 1 provides that the name of the instrument is the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 2) Rule 2025.
Section 2 Commencement
Section 2 provides that the whole of the instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
Section 3 Authority
Section 3 provides that the instrument is made under subsection 124ZT(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
Section 4 Schedule
Section 4 provides that the instrument amends the Principal Rule in the manner set out in the Schedule.
SCHEDULE 1 - AMENDMENTS
Item 1– Section 4
The definitions at section 4 of the Principal Rule do not currently refer to the Department’s web portal. Item 1 inserts a definition for the Bonded Return of Service System which is a web portal maintained by the Department for the purposes of the Program. The effect of this amendment is to clarify the web portal that bonded participants must use to upload relevant information in relation to their RoSO.
Item 2 – Section 4
Item 2 omits the word “employed” at section 4 of the Principal Rule in relation to the definition of “full-time basis” and substitutes it with the word “engaged”. The effect of this amendment is to capture a broader variety of ways in which a person may be undertaking eligible work, including where they may be a contractor or self-employed.
Item 3 – Section 4
Item 3 omits the word “employed” at section 4 of the Principal Rule in relation to the definition of “part-time basis” and substitutes it with the word “engaged”. The effect of this amendment is to capture a broader variety of ways in which a person may be undertaking eligible work, including where they may be a contractor or self-employed.
Item 4 – Section 4
Item 4 omits the word “employed” at section 4 of the Principal Rule in relation to the definition of “per-day basis” and substitutes it with the word “engaged”. The effect of this amendment is to capture a broader variety of ways in which a person may be undertaking eligible work, including where they may be a contractor or self-employed.
Item 5 – After section 7
Item 5 inserts a new clause 7A to provide that for the purposes of counting weeks under the Principal Rule, a week commences on a Sunday.
Item 6 – Section 8
Item 6 inserts a new subsection 8(2) of the Principal Rule. The current section 8 provides for specific work to be included as eligible work for the purposes of paragraph 124ZT(3)(d) of the Act. The purpose of the new subsection 8(2) is to include work that was undertaken by bonded participants that opted into the Program from a previous scheme, namely the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme or the Bonded Medical Places Scheme, which did not meet the requirements of those schemes but would meet the current definition of eligible work.
Item 7 – Paragraph 8(3)(e)
Item 7 omits paragraph 8(3)(e) of the Principal Rule. The current paragraph 8(3)(e) provides that telehealth services in an eligible location and delivered to patients in an eligible location will be eligible work. The amendment will allow telehealth services provided from an eligible location to be included as eligible work, regardless of where the recipient of those services is located. This will reduce the administrative burden on bonded participants.
Item 8 – Subsection 9(2)
Item 8 replaces references to “3 year” programs in subsection 9(2) of the Principal Rule with references to “156 weeks”. The purpose of this amendment is to align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act.
Item 9 – Subsection 9(3)
Item 9 repeals subsection 9(3) of the Principal Rule. The current subsection 9(3) provides that bonded participants with a 3 year RoSO must complete at least half of their RoSO after becoming a fellow or after 12 years from the day they completed their course of study in medicine, whichever comes first. This requirement is being removed to allow bonded participants to complete all of their RoSO as soon as they become a medical practitioner.
Item 10 – Subsection 9(4)
Item 10 repeals subsection 9(4) of the Principal Rule. The current subsection 9(4) provides that bonded participants who have a 12 month RoSO must complete that RoSO on a full-time basis and may be completed in a series of periods each of which is at least 10 consecutive weeks. The instrument will allow bonded participants with a 12 month RoSO to complete the equivalent of 12 months full-time RoSO in any configuration of hours they would like, so long as it is the equivalent of the hours that would be completed if done so on a full-time basis. The equivalent is calculated as 52 weeks multiplied by 35 hours per week. As a full-time basis is 35 hours or more in a week, bonded participants cannot count more than 35 hours per week to their RoSO. For example, a bonded participant who works 40 hours in one week may only count 35 hours to their return of service obligation. Additionally, a bonded participant who works 17.5 hours per week would take 104 weeks to complete their return of service obligation.
This provision differs to the 156 week RoSO calculations as bonded participants with a 12 month RoSO have committed to 12 months full-time.
The amendments to this provision also align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act in relation to “week” rather than “months”.
Item 11 – Subsection 14(1)
Item 11 replaces references to “3 year” programs in subsection 14(1) of the Principal Rule with references to “156 weeks”. The purpose of this amendment is to align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act.
Item 12 – Subparagraph 14(2)(a)(ii)
Item 12 replaces references to years with references to weeks in subparagraph 14(2)(a)(ii) of the Principal Rule. The purpose of this amendment is to align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act.
Item 13 – Subparagraph 14(2)(a)(iii)
Item 13 replaces references to years with references to weeks in subparagraph 14(2)(a)(iii) of the Principal Rule. The purpose of this amendment is to align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act.
Item 14 – Section 15
Item 14 repeals section 15 of the Principal Rule and inserts an abridged version of the existing subsection 15(1). The purpose of this amendment is to reduce the administrative burden on bonded participants to only require information necessary for the Department to assess whether a bonded participant has completed their RoSO.
Item 15 – Section 16
Item 15 repeals section 16 of the Principal Rule and inserts an abridged version of the existing subsection 16(1). The purpose of this amendment is to reduce the administrative burden on bonded participants to only require information necessary for the Department to assess whether a bonded participant has completed their RoSO.
Item 16 – Subsection 17(2)
Item 16 replaces references to months with references to weeks in subsection 17(2) of the Principal Rule. The purpose of this amendment is to align the language used in the Principal Rule with the language used in the Act.
Item 17 – After section 19
Item 17 inserts a new Part 5 which addresses circumstances in which the Secretary may decide to deem certain work to be eligible work in relation to an affected person. A person is an affected person if the person is, or was, a bonded participant and the affected person completes work on the basis that the Department has erroneously advised the affected person that such work would be eligible work. The Secretary may make a decision to deem work to be eligible work on their own initiative or on application from an affected person. The purpose of this provision is to enable the Department to correct a situation where it has erroneously advised a bonded participant that certain work would be eligible, the bonded participant acted on that advice and it was later discovered the advice was incorrect.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
HEALTH INSURANCE (BONDED MEDICAL PROGRAM)
AMENDMENT (2025 MEASURES NO. 2) RULE 2025
This disallowable legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the disallowable legislative instrument
This legislative instrument, the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Amendment Rule (No. 2) 2025, is made under subsection 124ZT(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act). The legislative instrument amends the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Rule 2020 (the Principal Rule).
The Principal Rule prescribes certain requirements for the Bonded Medical Program (Program) under Part VD of the Act. The Program provides for participants to receive a Commonwealth Supported Place in a medical course at an Australian university in return for completion of a period of work in regional, rural and remote areas and areas of workforce shortage.
Under the current Principal Rule, various provisions refer to “months” or “years” but should now refer to “weeks”. Other changes are also required to expand work that will be considered eligible work and clarify reporting requirements of bonded participants.
Human rights implications
The legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable human rights or freedoms. The effect of the legislative instrument is limited to the administration of the Program and simplifies the requirements for bonded participants. It does not have any broader implications for human rights and freedoms.
Conclusion
The legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing