EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Health Insurance Act 1973
Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) Declaration 2026
Purpose and operation
Part VC of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) creates a scheme to encourage efficient quality assurance activities in connection with the provision of health services. Those activities help to ensure the quality of health services that are funded by the Government, including through Medicare benefits and public hospital services. The scheme encourages participation in such activities by protecting certain information from disclosure, and by providing some protection from civil liability to certain persons engaged in those activities in good faith.
The purpose of the Declaration is to declare the Activity to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Act applies.
The Activity will be undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS). The Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program (the Program) collates data in a standardised dataset and an agreed data dictionary. Participating institutions will use this to ensure consistent data collection for adult cardiac surgical patients. Adult cardiac surgical procedures outcomes are statistically evaluated to assess individual surgeons and hospital unit performance against an agreed set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
This analysis considers a patient’s risk of complications and the surgical procedures and methods used to determine the most successful patient outcomes. The data set and definitions are reviewed regularly to allow integration with evolving databases. Protection is sought for the peer review analysis process, the outcomes of specific investigations, follow up with surgeons and any identifying data received.
The activity is undertaken by the Australia and New Zealand Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Research Institution (ANZCTSRI), which is a not-for-profit organisation established by the ANZSCTS to conduct the Program.
ANZCTSRI provides regular disclosures of de-identified information using data from the Activity in annual reports which show detailed unit comparisons for cardiac procedures performed in the calendar year. The published data compares results against the KPIs. Results are also published in academic journals. Extracts of reports are provided to the Departments of Health and hospitals in participating jurisdictions.
Authority
Subsection 124X(1) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, declare a quality assurance activity described in a declaration to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Act applies.
The Declaration declares the Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) (the Activity), to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Act applies.
Commencement
This Declaration commences on the day after registration of the instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Consultation
Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS), as the applicant for declaring the activity, was consulted in relation to the content of the Declaration. No concerns were raised with the proposed content. Wider consultation was not considered necessary as the quality assurance activity only relates to the gathering of information for the Activity, as conducted by ANZSCTS. The declaration of the Activity will not result in any direct or substantial indirect effect on business.
General
This Declaration is a disallowable legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Details of the Declaration are set out in Attachment A.
The Declaration is compatible with the rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility with human rights is set out in Attachment B.
ATTACHMENT A
Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) Declaration 2026
Part 1—Preliminary
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the Declaration is the Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) Declaration 2026.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Declaration commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Declaration is made under subsection 124X(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
Section 4 – Repeal
This section provides that the Declaration will be repealed when it ceases to be in force in accordance with subsection 124X(4) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
Subsection 124X(4) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 provides that a declaration of a quality assurance activity ceases to be in force at the end of 5 years after it is signed, unless sooner revoked.
Section 5 – Schedule
This section provides that the Activity described in the Schedule is declared to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Health Insurance Act 1973 applies.
Schedule 1 – Description of quality assurance activity
Item 1 – Name of activity
Item 1 provides that the name of the Activity is ‘Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program’.
Item 2 – Description of activity
Item 2 of Schedule 1 describes the quality assurance activity as a program that collates data using a standardised dataset and an agreed data dictionary. Participating institutions use these tools to support consistent data collection for adult cardiac surgical patients.
The Program statistically evaluates outcomes of adult cardiac surgical procedures. It assesses the performance of individual surgeons and hospital units against an agreed set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This analysis considers a patient’s risk of complications and the surgical procedures and methods used to determine the most successful patient outcomes. The data set and definitions are reviewed regularly to allow integration with evolving databases.
This declaration applies to the Program’s peer review and quality assurance analysis process, the outcomes of specific quality assurance investigations, any identifying data received and any follow up actions with individual surgeons.
The activity is undertaken by the Australia and New Zealand Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Research Institution (ANZCTSRI). ANZCTSRI is a not-for-profit organisation established by the ANZSCTS to conduct the Program.
ANZCTSRI provides regular disclosures of de-identified information using data from the Activity in annual reports which show detailed unit comparisons for cardiac procedures performed in the calendar year. The published data compares results against the KPIs. Results are also published in academic journals. Extracts of reports are provided to the Departments of Health and hospitals in participating jurisdictions.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) Declaration 2026
This Declaration 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 legislative instrument
The Health Insurance (Quality Assurance Activity – Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program) Declaration 2025 (the Declaration) declares the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) Cardiac Surgery Monitoring Program (the Activity), conducted by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) applies. Information known solely as the result of the Activity, or documents created solely for the purposes of the activity, will be covered by qualified privilege.
Human rights implications
This Declaration engages with the right to health as set out in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by assisting with the progressive realisation by all appropriate means of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
The Qualified Privilege Scheme established by Part VC of the Act is aimed at encouraging participation in quality assurance activities that help to ensure that the highest possible health care standards are maintained. The quality assurance activity described in this Declaration will provide participants with a greater degree of confidence and security that their participation is solely for the benefit of improving clinical practice and patient safety.
This Declaration also engages, but does not limit, the right to privacy as contained in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Activity involves the collection, storage, security, use, disclosure or publication of personal information. Data collected as part of the Activity will be de-identified to ensure that no health professionals or patients are identified prior to analysis or disclosure of the information.
Conclusion
This Declaration is compatible with human rights as it promotes the right to health and does not limit the right to privacy.
Professor Michael Kidd AO
Chief Medical Officer
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing