Health ref. no. 805
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
Health Insurance (Eligible persons holders of temporary visas and spouse, parent, or child of New Zealand citizens) Order 2017
(1) I, GREG HUNT, Minister for Health, pursuant to subsection 6(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act), hereby:
(a) DECLARE that every person included in the class of persons specified in section (2), being a person who, but for this Order, would not be an eligible person, shall be treated as an eligible person for the purposes of the Act.
(b) DECLARE that this Order shall have effect from date of signature.
(2) A person who:
(a) is lawfully residing in Australia;
(b) is, within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958, the holder of a temporary visa;
(c) is not covered by regulations made under subsection 6A(1) of the Act;
(d) has applied for a permanent visa under the Migration Act 1958 and the application has not been withdrawn or otherwise finally determined;
(e) has not, both:
- on or after the relevant day, made an application for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (whether or not the person has applied for any other visa), other than an application that has been withdrawn or otherwise finally determined; and
- whether before or after the relevant day, made an application for a parent visa under the Migration Act 1958 (whether or not the person has applied for any other visa and whether or not the application for the parent visa has been withdrawn or otherwise finally determined); and
(f) has not, whether before or after the relevant day, made an application for a parent visa under the Migration Act 1958 (whether or not the person has applied for any other visa), other than an application that has been withdrawn or otherwise finally determined; and
(g) in respect of whom another person, being the person’s spouse, parent or child, is a New Zealand citizen who meets the definition of “Australian resident” under the Act.
(3) In section (2):
(a) the relevant day is the commencement of paragraph (f) of the definition of Australian resident in the Act; and
(b) spouse has the same meaning as in subsection 4(1) of the National Health Act 1953; and
(c) parent and child each has the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958.
Dated this 26th day of October 2017
GREG HUNT
MINISTER FOR HEALTH
ATTACHMENT - STATEMENT OF REASONS
Health Insurance Act 1973)
Class Order under Subsection 6(1)
ORDER NO: 805
DATE OF ORDER: 2017
RELATED ORDERS: 376, 584, 761, 780
NAME OF PERSON OR GROUP: Spouses, parents or children (of New Zealand citizens residing permanently in Australia) who are seeking permanent residence in Australia
REASONS FOR APPROVAL:
A New Zealand citizen permanently residing in Australia is considered to be an Australian resident for Medicare purposes by virtue of paragraph (c) of the definition of that term in section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act). New Zealanders, however, are not required to hold permanent visas.
Where a resident New Zealander has a foreign spouse who applies for permanent residence in Australia, the spouse may not meet the definition of “Australian resident” as the New Zealander is not a holder of a permanent visa as prescribed in subparagraph (v)(A) of the definition.
This creates an anomaly in that the foreign spouses, parents and children of resident New Zealand citizens are not eligible for Medicare under the definition of “Australian resident”.
As this was an unintended consequence of the legislation, the issuing of a subsection 6(1) class order is appropriate.
.
Note: The name of this instrument was amended on registration as the instrument as lodged did not have a unique name (see subsection 10(2), Legislation Rule 2016).