EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Health and Ageing
National Health Act 1953
Condition of Registration pursuant to Subsection 73B(1)
(HIB22/05)
Subsection 73B(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Minister may impose further conditions to which the registration of a registered organization, or registered organizations generally, are subject.
The Minister for Health and Ageing, by instrument dated 3 November 2005, has imposed, with effect from the date after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, five additional conditions of registration on registered organizations generally, which prevent registered organizations from imposing, or continuing to impose, benefit limitation periods on transferred or transferring contributors or their dependants.
A benefit limitation period is defined in condition (d) of the instrument, as a period of time set by a registered organization, during which a contributor or dependant is eligible to receive an amount of benefit under an applicable benefits arrangement (hospital cover policy) that is less than the amount of benefit that the contributor or dependant would be eligible to receive after that period has expired.
Conditions (a), (b) and (c) provide as follows.
a) In relation to a registered organization’s applicable benefits arrangements, contributors or dependants transferring from another organization must not be subject, in any form, to a benefit limitation period.
b) In relation to a registered organization’s applicable benefits arrangements, contributors or dependants transferring from one applicable benefits arrangement to another within the same organization must not be subject, in any form, to a benefit limitation period.
c) If a contributor or dependant is currently serving a benefit limitation period with an organization following transfer from another organization, the receiving organization must cease to impose the benefit limitation period by 1 December 2005, and must notify affected contributors and dependants to this effect before 1 December 2005.
Condition (e) provides that a waiting period permitted by the Act, including a waiting period applied to part of the benefit of a transferring member in accordance with the portability provisions of Schedule 1 of that Act [paragraphs (la) to (ld)], is not a benefit limitation period for the purpose of conditions (a), (b) and (c) contained in the instrument signed by the Minister and dated 3 November 2005.
Consultation
The Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC) has been consulted, as required by subsection 73B(1) of the Act.
Consultation with the private health insurance industry was undertaken via circular, following which all registered organizations had the opportunity to make written submissions to the Minister for Health and Ageing.
The Department of Health and Ageing also wrote to relevant interest groups for their comment and inclusion in the process. This included the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Private Hospitals Association, the Australian Health Insurance Association, beyondblue, and the Mental Health Council of Australia.
Subsection 73B(1A) of the Act requires the Minister to cause notice in writing of his decision to impose additional conditions of registration to be served on the public officer of each registered organisation to which the condition relates. This was done by industry circular issued on 29 August 2005. A further industry circular will be issued following registration of the conditions on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Subsection 73B(2) of the Act requires the Minister, within one month of imposing additional conditions of registration, to publish in the Gazette , and free of charge on the Department’s website not later than 5 working days after action is taken by the Minister, notification setting out:
- the name of the registered organizations;
- the particulars of the action taken, including the conditions imposed; and
- the date on which the action was taken.
Notification on the Department’s website will take place immediately following registration of the conditions on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
By virtue of subsection 56(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, notification on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments is taken to satisfy the requirement for publication in the Gazette.
The imposition of additional conditions of registration under subsection 73B is reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal: subsection 105AB(3)(b) of the Act.
The conditions of registration were made on 3 November 2005 and take effect the date after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The conditions of registration and this explanatory statement have been lodged for registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE BRANCH
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AGEING
November 2005