EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1986 NO. 127
ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH
HEALTH INSURANCE COMMISSION ACT 1973
HEALTH INSURANCE COMMISSION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 44 of the Health Insurance Commission Act 1973 (“the Act”) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
Section 38 of the Act provides that the Commission shall not, except with the approval of the Minister, enter into any contract involving the payment or receipt of an amount exceeding $250,000 or, if a higher amount is prescribed, that amount.
The regulation prescribes an amount of $1,000,000 for the purposes of section 38 of the Act.
The contract limit has not been raised since 1978 when the Act was amended to raise the amount from $100,000 to $250,000, and the impact of inflation since that time has resulted in many more mundane matters being unnecessarily referred to the Minister. The Department of Finance has agreed that $1,000,000 would be a more appropriate threshold for Ministerial approval of contracts under the Act.