EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Human Services
Medicare Australia Act 1973
Medicare Australia (Function of Chief Executive Officer – Teen Dental Plan) Direction 2008
Background
On 2 March 2008, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health and Ageing announced that the Government would implement a Teen Dental Plan to assist certain persons in meeting the costs associated with obtaining dental check-ups for children between the ages of 12 and 17. A copy of that announcement is attached to this Explanatory Statement.
To implement the Teen Dental Plan, legislation is proposed to establish a means tested, age restricted dental benefits scheme, to commence on 1 July 2008.
The Department of Health and Ageing has sought the assistance of the Chief Executive Officer of Medicare Australia (‘the CEO’) in having Medicare Australia undertake preparatory activities so that the dental scheme established under the Teen Dental Plan can commence on 1 July 2008.
Those activities include the identification of children who may be eligible to receive dental services under the new dental benefits scheme (‘eligible patients’) by using information about persons with particular social security entitlements (‘eligibility information’), and information collected for Medicare purposes (‘medicare information’), and the preparation of materials to be sent to eligible patients or their representatives once the scheme commences.
Section 4 of the Medicare Australia Act 1973 (‘the Act’) establishes Medicare Australia. Sections 8AG of the Act creates the office of the CEO and section 5 sets out the CEO’s statutory functions. The CEO is, under the Minister for Human Services and through the Secretary to the Department of Human Services, responsible for managing Medicare Australia.
Section 5 of the Act sets out a number of mechanisms for conferral of functions on the CEO. Paragraph 5(1)(d) of the Act provides that the CEO has any functions that the Minister for Human Services, by writing, directs the CEO to perform.
The purpose of this direction (‘the Direction’) is to confer on the CEO the function of conducting preparatory activities to assist the Department of Health and Ageing in implementing the Teen Dental Plan.
Details of Direction
Section 1 – Name of Direction
This section provides that the name of the Direction is the “Medicare Australia (Function of Chief Executive Officer – Teen Dental Plan) Direction 2008”.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides for the Direction to commence on the day after it is registered as a legislative instrument.
Section 3 – Cessation
This section provides that the Direction will cease to have effect after 31 December 2008. A cessation provision has been included because the function will no longer need to be performed once proposed legislation giving effect to the Teen Dental Plan comes into force.
Section 4 – Definitions
This section defines certain terms used in the Direction.
Section 5 - Function in relation to Teen Dental Plan
Subsection 5(1) provides that the CEO is to perform the function of undertaking preparatory activities to assist the Department of Health and Ageing in implementing the Teen Dental Plan.
Subsection 5(2) provides that the function includes:
(a) collecting eligibility information for the purposes of the Teen Dental Plan;
(b) using eligibility information or medicare information to identify eligible patients;
(c) disclosing medicare information, for the purposes of identifying eligible patients, to a Commonwealth authority which has provided eligibility information to the CEO;
(d) using eligibility information or medicare information in preparation for contacting eligible patients or their representatives; and
(e) providing reports and information to the Department of Health and Ageing.
Subsection 5(3) provides that the use of personal information by the CEO in performing the function is authorised by law for the purposes of Information Privacy Principle 10.1(c) in section 14 of the Privacy Act 1988.
Subsection 5(4) provides that the disclosure of personal information by the CEO in performing the function is authorised by law for the purposes of Information Privacy Principle 11.1(d) in section 14 of the Privacy Act 1988.
Consultation
The Direction was settled after consultation with the Department of Health and Ageing and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.