Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 Revocation 2015

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2015L00941 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 Revocation 2015

 

Explanatory Statement

 

General Outline of Instrument

 

  1. This instrument is made under:

  section 282-30 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007

 

2.      This instrument revokes ‘Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007’ – F2014L00869 registered on 28th June 2014, as the reporting requirements are no longer in use.    

 

3.      The revocation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

Date of effect

 

4.      The instrument commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

 

What is this instrument about

 

5.      The purpose of this instrument is to revoke ‘Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007’ as the Chief Executive Medicare is no longer required to report to the Commissioner of Taxation information about persons who were members of complying private health insurance funds each financial year. Registered private health insurers are now required to provide the information directly to the Commissioner.

 

 

 

What is the effect of this instrument

 

6.      The effect of this instrument is that the Chief Executive Medicare will no longer be required to report data to the Commissioner. In turn, this will mean that private health insurers will no longer be required to report this data to the Chief Executive Medicare. A new arrangement will be put in place to require private health insurers to report data directly to the Commissioner.

 

7.      An assessment of the compliance cost impact indicates that the impact will be minimal for implementation. There is an initial estimated cost to the health funds of $6,000 each; however, there is an estimated ongoing annual compliance cost savings of $2.4 million, the bulk of which is attributed to individual taxpayers through earlier pre-filling of tax returns.

 

 

 

Background

 

8.      This instrument has been developed to ensure that the requirements for the Chief Executive Medicare to report the data to the Commissioner will no longer exist.

 

9.      Registered private health insurers will report their data directly to the Commissioner in accordance with section 264BB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

 

Consultation:

 

10.  This instrument was developed in consultation with Medicare, Department of Health (DoH), health insurers and their software developers.

 

11.  The ATO consulted with representatives from Medicare, Department of Health, registered private health insurers, and software providers in May and July 2014. All stakeholders supported the proposal for private health insurers to report their data directly the Commissioner. It was agreed that health insurers and their software providers would report data directly to the Commissioner instead of the Chief Executive Medicare.

 

12.  Following further consultation in September 2014, detailed communications outlining the changes required and steps to be taken as well as the timeframe were sent directly to each of the representatives of the health insurers and their software developers. The ATO has continued direct contact with the private health insurers to ensure the health funds have taken the necessary steps to commence reporting directly to the Commissioner.
 

 

 

Stephen John Vesperman

Deputy Commissioner of Taxation

[15 June 2015]

 

Legislative references:

 

264BB Income Tax Assessment Act 1936

282-30 Private Health Insurance Act 2007

Legislative Instruments Act 2003

 

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

This Statement is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 Revocation 2015

 

This Legislative Instrument 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

This Legislative Instrument revokes and withdraws the ‘Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007’ Legislative Instrument as the Chief Executive Medicare is no longer required to provide the Commissioner with information about persons who were members of complying private health insurance funds each financial year.

 

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms as it withdraws guidelines that are no longer in use by Medicare and complying private health insurance funds. The fact that the health funds will report the data directly to the Commissioner means that human rights will not be affected.

 

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

Overview

The Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 Revocation 2015, made under the authority of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, revokes the previous reporting requirements stipulated in the instrument registered as F2014L00869 on 28th June 2014. The revocation is necessitated by the change in the reporting process, where private health insurers are now required to provide data directly to the Commissioner of Taxation rather than through the Chief Executive Medicare. This shift aims to streamline the reporting process, reduce administrative burden, and improve efficiency in data handling. The revocation instrument will take effect the day after its registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The revocation addresses the need to update the reporting framework in accordance with the evolving administrative requirements of private health insurance. The previous arrangement, which required the Chief Executive Medicare to relay information to the Commissioner, has been deemed unnecessary as health insurers are now equipped to report directly. This change is expected to yield significant cost savings, particularly for individual taxpayers, through more efficient pre-filling of tax returns. The development of this instrument involved consultations with key stakeholders including Medicare, the Department of Health, health insurers, and software developers, ensuring that the transition to the new reporting system is smoothly executed.

Scope and Application

This legislative instrument revokes the earlier instrument titled 'Lodgment of Private Health Insurance Information in Accordance with the Private Health Insurance Act 2007'. It is made under the authority of section 282-30 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 and serves to eliminate the requirement for the Chief Executive of Medicare to report information to the Commissioner of Taxation about persons who were members of complying private health insurance funds each financial year. Instead, registered private health insurers are now mandated to submit this information directly to the Commissioner, as outlined in section 264BB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The revocation comes into effect on the day following its registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The instrument was developed through consultations with relevant stakeholders, including Medicare, the Department of Health, registered private health insurers, and software developers, all of whom supported the change in reporting requirements. The revocation is expected to result in minimal compliance costs, with an initial estimated cost of $6,000 per health fund, but significant ongoing annual savings of $2.4 million, primarily benefiting individual taxpayers through the earlier pre-filling of tax returns.

Key Provisions

The operative sections of the instrument (section 282-30 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007) facilitate the revocation of the earlier instrument, which was F2014L00869, registered on 28 June 2014. This revocation is necessary as the reporting requirements for private health insurance information are no longer applicable. The Chief Executive Medicare is no longer obligated to report to the Commissioner of Taxation regarding the membership of complying private health insurance funds each financial year. Instead, registered private health insurers are now directly responsible for reporting this information to the Commissioner, in line with section 264BB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. This legislative instrument imposes new obligations on registered private health insurers. They are now required to report data directly to the Commissioner of Taxation, eliminating the intermediary role of the Chief Executive Medicare. This change aims to streamline the reporting process and reduce compliance costs. The instrument mandates that health funds adjust their reporting mechanisms to ensure data is accurately and timely submitted to the Commissioner. This direct reporting is intended to enhance the efficiency of tax administration and benefit taxpayers by facilitating earlier pre-filling of tax returns. Breach of the obligations under this legislative instrument may result in civil or criminal consequences, although the document does not specify the exact penalties. It is important for registered private health insurers to comply with the new reporting requirements to avoid potential legal ramifications. The instrument’s compatibility with human rights is assured as it withdraws guidelines that are no longer in use, and the new direct reporting system does not engage any applicable rights or freedoms. The primary focus is on improving administrative efficiency without impacting human rights.

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Taxation Law
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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.