Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F2017L01155 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

 Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017

 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT 

Issued by the Attorney‑General in compliance with section 15G of the Legislation Act 2003

 

INTRODUCTION

This certificate was made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 and is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act.

A certificate issued by the Attorney-General under subsection 51(1) of the Legislation Act is not subject to disallowance. As such, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required (Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, section 9).

OUTLINE

The purpose of the sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act is to ensure that legislative instruments are kept up to date and only remain in force for so long as they are needed.

Paragraph 51(1)(c) enables the Attorney-General to issue a certificate to defer the sunsetting day for an instrument for a period of either six or 12 months. The instrument will then cease to be in force on the day specified in the certificate instead of the scheduled sunsetting day.

This allows instruments to continue to be in force for a further but limited period of time when they would otherwise sunset. This removes the administrative burden of remaking instruments which would have a limited duration prior to their repeal and potential replacement.

PROCESS BEFORE CERTIFICATE WAS MADE

Regulatory impact analysis

Certificates of deferral of sunsetting are machinery of government instruments, and are therefore not subject to the regulatory impact assessment requirements set out by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The OBPR reference for this standing exemption is ID19633.

Consultation before making

Before this certificate was issued, the Attorney‑General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the Legislation Act. Consultation involved the Minister for Health advising the Attorney‑General of the reasons in support of issuing the Certificate. The Certificate is consistent with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements. Accordingly, further consultation was unnecessary.

Statutory preconditions relevant to this certificate

If the Attorney-General is satisfied that the statutory conditions in section 51 of the Legislation Act are met, an instrument’s sunsetting day can be deferred for either six or 12 months by means of a certificate made under that section. In terms of process, the Legislation Act requires:

a)      the responsible rule maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing

b)      the Attorney-General to be satisfied that the instrument meets the statutory conditions, and

c)      the Attorney-General to issue a certificate that includes a statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate.

The certificate issued by the Attorney‑General must be laid before each House of Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made. It is a legislative instrument and must be registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, but is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19).

More information

The detail of the certificate is provided in Attachment A.

The instrument which is the subject of this certificate, and which will now sunset at a later day as specified in this certificate, is available on the Federal Register of Legislationhttp://www.comlaw.gov.au.

Further information about the operation of this instrument may also be requested from the Department of Health.


ATTACHMENT A

NOTES ON THE CERTIFICATE           

Section 1 Name

This section provides that the Certificate is named the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017. The Certificate may be cited by that name.

Section 2  Commencement

This section provides for the Certificate to commence on the day after it is registered.

Section 3 Authority

This section provides that the Certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003. 

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines, for the purposes of this Certificate, ‘Legislation Act’ to mean the Legislation Act 2003 and ‘Regulations’ to mean the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 being the legislative instrument the subject of this Certificate.  

Section 5  Statement of reasons for issue of certificate

This section provides the statement of reasons as required by paragraph 51(2)(a) of the Legislation Act.

The statement of reasons explains the reasons for which the Attorney-General is satisfied that the Health Insurance Regulations would (apart from the operation of Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Legislation Act) be likely to cease to be in force within 12 months after their sunsetting days, as required by subparagraph 51(1)(b)(i) of the Legislation Act.

Section 6 Deferral of sunsetting of the Health Insurance Regulations

This section provides that the Health Insurance Regulations, for which the sunsetting day is 1 October 2017, are taken to cease to be in force under section 51 of the Legislation Act on 1 October 2018.

Section 7 Repeal of this instrument

This section provides that the Certificate is repealed at the start of 2 October 2018.

Overview

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017 was introduced to address the need for the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 to remain in force beyond their scheduled sunsetting date. Enacted under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003, this certificate was issued by the Attorney-General to defer the sunsetting of the Health Insurance Regulations for a period of twelve months. The purpose of this deferral is to ensure that the regulations stay effective and are not subject to unnecessary administrative burdens of remaking or replacing them, thus maintaining the integrity of the health insurance system. The certificate, which is not subject to disallowance, outlines the reasons for the deferral and specifies that the regulations will cease to be in force on 1 October 2018 instead of the original sunsetting date of 1 October 2017.

Scope and Application

The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017 applies to the Health Insurance Regulations 1975, which are a legislative instrument governed by the provisions of the Legislation Act 2003. This particular certificate is an instrument issued by the Attorney-General under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act, allowing for the sunsetting day of the Health Insurance Regulations to be deferred for a period of twelve months. The certificate, which is not subject to disallowance, aims to ensure the Regulations remain in force for an additional period, facilitating the administrative process of remaking the instruments that would otherwise have a limited duration before their repeal and replacement. The certificate is applicable nationally within the Commonwealth jurisdiction and does not specify exclusions or exemptions in its text. Subordinate instruments may further extend or restrict its application, though no such details are provided in the explanatory statement.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Health Insurance Regulations) Certificate 2017 include section 1, which names the certificate; section 2, which provides for the certificate to commence on the day after it is registered; section 3, which outlines that the certificate is made under paragraph 51(1)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003; section 4, which provides definitions for terms used in the certificate such as "Legislation Act" and "Regulations"; section 5, which includes the statement of reasons for the issue of the certificate; section 6, which defers the sunsetting of the Health Insurance Regulations; and section 7, which provides for the repeal of the certificate at the start of 2 October 2018. The obligations and requirements imposed by this Act include the necessity for the responsible rule maker to apply to the Attorney-General in writing to defer the sunsetting of the Health Insurance Regulations (section 17 of the Legislation Act). The Attorney-General must then be satisfied that the statutory conditions are met, and issue a certificate with a statement of reasons (section 51 of the Legislation Act). The certificate must be laid before each House of Parliament no later than six sitting days after it is made (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). The certificate is also subject to registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. The certificate does not impose any offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach, as it is not subject to disallowance (Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 19). The certificate is a machinery of government instrument and is not subject to the regulatory impact assessment requirements set out by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). However, the Attorney-General considered the general obligation to consult imposed by section 17 of the Legislation Act before issuing the certificate. The Minister for Health advised the Attorney-General of the reasons in support of issuing the certificate, and further consultation was deemed unnecessary as the certificate is consistent with the policy intent of the sunsetting arrangements and does not significantly alter existing arrangements.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.