EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Minute No. of 1999 – Minister for Aged Care
Subject - Hearing Services Administration Act 1997
Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Amendment Determination 1999 (No. 1)
The Hearing Services Administration Act 1997 ('the Act') sets up a scheme under which hearing services are provided to voucher-holders by contracted hearing service providers.
Part 2, Division 3, Section 13 (1) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by writing, determine that:
(a) each eligible person included in a specific class of eligible persons is a participant in the voucher system for the purposes of this Act; and
(b) in the event that the Minister issues a voucher to such a person during a specified period, one or more specified hearing services are available to the person under the voucher.
A determination under this section is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of Section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
The proposed Amendment will amend the Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Determination 1997 to:
(i) prescribe for the submission of a Statutory Declaration to certify the circumstances of a hearing device being destroyed, lost and unlikely to be found or damaged and cannot be reasonably repaired, before a replacement is considered.
These amendments will give effect to new measures announced in the 1999-2000 Federal Budget for the Hearing Services Program, these include:
- the submission of a Statutory Declaration to explain the circumstances of the loss, destruction or damage beyond repair of the hearing device before replacement is considered.
Item 1 - will amend Section 1 to change the citation of the Determination to the Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Amendment Determination 1999 (No.1).
Item 2 - will amend Section 6, Table B Class No.1 by inserting conditions under which a hearing device may be replaced.
Item 3 - will amend Section 6, Table B Class No.2 by inserting conditions under which a hearing device may be replaced.
Item 4 - will amend Section 6, Table B Class No.3, Column 2 by specifying the conditions under which repairs and maintenance may be provided and a hearing device may be replaced.
Item 5 - will amend Subsection 7 (2) by inserting the conditions under which charges are payable by participants who choose a 'top-up' hearing device as a replacement for a lost, destroyed or damaged beyond reasonable repair hearing device.
Item 6 - will amend Subsection 8 (2) by specifying the service item in column 2 in Table B as services necessary to assess and measure the nature and extent of the participant's hearing loss.
The proposed Amendment Determination will commence on 1 July 1999.