EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 1953
National Health (Indigenous Chronic Disease – PBS Co-Payment Measure) Special Arrangement Amendment Instrument 2012 (No.2)
PB 89 of 2012
Authority
Subsection 100(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) enables the Minister to make special arrangements for the supply of pharmaceutical benefits. Subsection 100(2) of the Act provides that the Minister may vary or revoke a special arrangement made under subsection 100(1).
Subsection 100(3) of the Act provides that Part VII of the Act, and instruments made for the purposes of Part VII of the Act, have effect subject to a special arrangement made under subsection 100(1).
Purpose
The purpose of this legislative instrument, made under subsections 100(1) and (2) of the Act, is to amend the National Health (Indigenous Chronic Disease – PBS Co-payment Measure) Special Arrangement 2012 (PB 22 of 2012) (the Special Arrangement), to reflect amendments to the Act made by the National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Act 2012 which commence on 1 October 2012.
The amendments to the Act which are reflected in this instrument are:
- provisions for medicines to be included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) solely for supply under the prescriber bag provisions of the Act.
The prescriber bag provisions are sections 93, 93AA and 93AB of the Act. These sections provide for the supply of certain pharmaceutical benefits by medical practitioners, authorised midwives and authorised nurse practitioners, respectively, directly to patients, ie, as ‘prescriber bag supplies’. The Minister may declare, under subsection 85(2AA) of the Act, that a drug may only be supplied under one or more of the prescriber bag provisions of the Act. This has the effect that every pharmaceutical benefit having the drug can only be supplied under Part VII of the Act (ie, under the PBS) under the prescriber bag provision or provisions of the Act specified. Similarly, if the Minister makes a determination under subsection 85(7A) of the Act that a particular pharmaceutical benefit can only be supplied under one or more of the prescriber bag provisions of the Act, that pharmaceutical benefit can only be supplied under Part VII of the Act (ie, under the PBS) under the prescriber bag provision or provisions specified.
This instrument amends the Special Arrangement by excluding from the scope of the Special Arrangement pharmaceutical benefits that may only be supplied under the prescriber bag provisions.
Consultation
The changes made by this instrument are technical and machinery in nature and no consultation was undertaken.
This instrument commences on 1 October 2012.
This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.